A Familiar Unknown World
by GoldenArcher96
Summary: Let's see... I've somehow arrived in a world full of what I thought were fictional characters, I've lost every type of communication with humans, and I'm going insane. Wonderful! Self insert. Rating is only speculative, it's subject to change later on.
1. I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up!

Horray, my first really devoted fic. Joy. I've created several fics in the past, but they've all failed miserably due to lack of motivation, devotion, or interest. I hope I really mean it when I say that I'm devoted to this particular fic--a remake of a fic idea in the past. Let's see what you think.

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi, Halo, Sonic, Link, and any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

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Chapter 1 – I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up!**

Ahh, summer. What a great time for children to roam in the grass, finally free from the confinements of school. What a great time for parents to realize that they have to cook for their children every day until school starts again. What a great time for schools to shorten vacation to allow for a school-wide cruise trip. Wait, what?

Yeah, I couldn't believe it, either. It seemed too far fetched, but here I am, relaxing in a luxurious boat in the middle of the Atlantic. It's just me and my friends, not to mention at least four hundred other middle-schoolers. That's something that doesn't happen every day. It probably doesn't happen every century.

Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself. Well, my name is Lawrence. There isn't much to say about me, really. Just picture this: an asian with glasses. This should pop an appropriate image in your head. But, if you lack imagination, here's a short rundown. I'm short, not athletic, and video game obsessed. That should give you a basic idea of what I'm like.

In a nutshell, my life is boring. Nothing has ever happened to me. I mean, sure, I have friends, and I go to a school. Still, nothing else has really happened to me. Oh well, at least I'm still alive. As for my friends, they're a lot, for lack of a better word, looser than I am. I mean, they think before they act, whereas I'm overly paranoid. Not a very good combination of friends, is it?

Now, let me talk about the cruise we're on. It's a miracle. Our school principal, probably the biggest gambler in the past seven hundred years, has been getting lottery tickets for the past several years. Finally, he was able to get the winning numbers. Seriously, I thought he would have had a better chance to die, be reborn, end up on Yoshi's Island, then Mobius, then Hyrule, and vomit a baby rather than get a winning lottery ticket. I guess it's all luck of the draw.

Since I mentioned several game worlds, I might as well talk about my video game obsession. Well, I've been playing video games for as long as I could hold things in my hand. And, that's just about what my life was about. Wake up, go to school, eat, do homework, play video games, eat, play video games, play video games… you get the picture. In fact, sometimes I have these weird dreams that I end up in a video game world. They're really odd. I remember, one time I was in the Pokemon world but for some reason everyone from Halo came to kill everyone. Yeah, strange.

"Hey, dude!" someone called, breaking my train of thought. The source of the voice was none other than my friend, John.

"Oh, hey," I replied, trying to refocus my thoughts. "Didn't you see I was daydreaming? C'mon, you should know that look!"

"Eh," said John, obviously careless of what I was thinking about. "That's not important. What's important is that the Brawl tournament is still going on downstairs! Don't you need to compete?"

My eyes opened wider than they should have as John's statement came to me. "Oh yeah! Oops. Thanks, John!"

He grinned. "No problem."

Jumping off my comfortable lounge chair, I headed to the, err, down part of the ship. I still couldn't believe my principal was able to afford this. It was a miracle. As I stumbled down the stairs, the familiar sounds of a Brawl match going on. Soon it was accompanied by several cheers.

Once I was downstairs, I was greeted by a big screen TV. Seriously, how much money do we have now? There's a cruise, a Wii, a big screen TV, so what's next? Eh, I don't really care. As long as we finally get decent food, I'm alright.

Enough about how much my school sucks. I looked at the tournament bracket. We were now in the semi-finals. I'm matched up against a Meta-Knight user. Crap. Considering Lucas isn't exactly the high in the tier list, and Meta is known to be cheap, this could be a problem. Gripping the controller, I braced myself for the match.

* * *

Two creatures sat on the shoreline, watching as a large boat sailed across the horizon. The setting sun gave the ocean a reflective, orange tint. They simply stared as the ship traveled at a snail's pace.

"Hmm," noted one of the creatures, "not many ships come through here. I wonder what they're doing."

"I don't know," pondered the other, much younger. "I've never really paid any attention to the coast. I'm usually still playing with my friends around this time of day.

The older being looked at the moving object, transfixed. "What would a boat be doing here? It can't be one of ours; it's too big. I don't think it's made of the same materials, either."

"Oh well," the younger creature stated with a sigh. "It can't really be that important. I mean, it's only a ship."

"It just doesn't seem right," the elder one questioned. "I know it's just a ship, but… oh, look. It's raining. You better get in shelter, now."

The child groaned. "Why? It's just rain." Suddenly, lightning flashed in the distance, opposite of the far off vessel. The wind also seemed to pick up a little. "I'm gonna go." With that, he left.

The older creature continued to study the faraway craft for another minute, and then proceeded to leave. "I have a feeling that ship is somehow going to be involved with us."

* * *

"Attention," shouted an adult's voice. "Attention!"

No one heard him. All of the students were focused on the current Brawl match.

"ATTENTION!" he shouted again, his voice amplified by a megaphone.

I turned around, pausing the intense match. The voice belonged to none other than our rich principal. Seriously, how many things did he buy?

"I just want to let you know," our principal continued, "there is an intense storm going on outside, so I want you all to stay inside. Please do not go on the main deck. Thank you."

What the heck? They stop our match for that? It's usually common sense to not go out in a storm. Oh well.

"C'mon, Lawrence," my opponent said, "we have to finish the match!"

I groaned. I was getting owned, almost about to be three-stocked. Oh well, what can you expect from a Lucas versus Meta Knight match? Maybe there'll be a miracle.

The match ended how I predicted. Meh. That's right, I got three-stocked. There goes the idea of getting to the finals. I need to take my anger out. Punching someone won't really help, and my urge to do that is only strengthened by my opponent bragging about his victory every three seconds. After a few seconds of pondering, I decide to go to the deck. Who cares if it's raining? I mean, it's just water.

Taking one last survey across the room, I dash upstairs. I was lucky no one heard me, considering it was kind of like a "STOMP STOMP STOMPITY STOMP" sound. My hand reached the handle of the door, and opened it. Immediately a gust of wind came through, and I just as quickly went outside and shut the door with a loud "SLAM," courtesy of the wind.

It wasn't raining that hard, it was just windy. Very, very windy. Oh well, I came here to cool off, right? Nothing cools you off more than lots of wind banging on your head. Wonderful.

I looked upwards. It was a beautiful sunset, unlike any I've ever seen before. The fiery ball of lava in the sky, known as the sun, reflected its magnificent glare across the vast ocean. The scattered raindrops acted as prisms, creating a glorious rainbow that stretched across the sky.

After a minute to take in the scenery, I took out my camera phone. This moment had to be saved, even if through a crappy cell phone camera. After searching for the best spot for a picture, I noticed a large land mass in the distance. It must have been a large island, judging by what looked to be flourishing palm trees.

Wait, flourishing palm trees? We live in the mid-Atlantic, taking a cruise on the mid-Atlantic. Eh, now's not the time to be complementing the oddities of nature. All I need are a couple of pictures so I can treasure this amazing sight.

Aiming my camera at the island, I press the "take photo" button. It was a great picture. Astoundingly, the unrealistic colors of the camera actually made it look better. It kind of made it look like something fake, like from a fantasy world; but it was really there.

Soon afterwards, I head towards the rail and take a look at the ocean below. The ocean, just as regal as the sky above, was a mysterious tint of orange. Falling raindrops created tiny ripples that overlapped each other as they got larger. This was also a memorable scene that begged to be part of my image collection. I snapped open my camera phone once again, and tried to get the best shot. Every angle I tried, however, either had a small part of the ship's railing, or just didn't suit my taste. Without thinking, I started to lean over the bars. The railing was still there. I leaned further. Ah, there was a good shot.

Suddenly the wind picked up again, taking me with it. That must be a strong wind if it can take me with it. Of course, I'm not exactly the biggest guy in the grade, so it kind of was expected. It took me a few seconds to realize that I hadn't just fallen off the ship. I was off the ship, which meant I was in the water.

Oh crap.

Instinct told me to start to flap my arms around. I looked like a panicking duck that forgot to swim, which was really the case I was in. I tried to make noises to grab someone's attention, but I quickly stopped in realization that no one was on the main deck.

The currents pushed me further and further away from the cruise. After one last yelp, I gave up. What am I supposed to do? I looked in the direction that the current was dragging me. From the looks of it, the island I noticed earlier was getting bigger and bigger. That must mean I was getting closer. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be hopelessly lost on a deserted island than drown.

After moving with the sea, my head started to feel light. Was I falling unconscious? Oh god, this is the worst place to lose consciousness. I try to will myself up, but all my energy was gone. With a sigh of defeat, I give in to the drowsy feeling.

Right before the last wink of awareness left me, I thought I heard speech coming from the island that was currently coming closer to me. Was it civilization? Nah, no one's ever put this island on a map, I think. I don't pay attention to maps very often. I'm probably just hallucinating.

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Please review! It is your opinions that I depend on as motivation for this fic. If you review, I will continue on. If not, then I'm not sure what will become of this.


	2. Hallucinations Much?

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi and any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

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Chapter 2 – Hallucinations Much?**

I awoke to the ever-so-shifty feeling of sand beneath my body. As I regained my senses, the warm sunlight engulfed my body in warmth almost too good to be true. A little ways away from me, the sounds of small waves crashing together brought a tranquil setting.

Wait, what?

My eyes bulged open as my brain processed the situation I was in, only to be closed by the sun's rays. Wasn't I just in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of the night? I guess I was asleep for longer than I thought. With a quick yawn, I opened my eyes, now prepared for the sun. I was, without a doubt, on the island I saw last night.

It was much more humid than on the main coast, for sure. I was nearly sweating from the heat. It had to be at least eighty or ninety degrees here. Not a very soothing change from the seventy-eighty range back at home.

Oh my god, home! How could I have forgotten? Being here meant I wasn't at my house, or at least the cruise.

After that, I think I became ever-so-slightly mentally insane. That is, if "ever-so-slightly mentally insane" means I went berserk on anything and everything I could find. All I can remember is that I ran into the nearest palm tree, got bombarded by pineapples, and tried to clutch the sand, screaming, "GET ME BACK HOME! GET ME BACK HOME!" Yeah. That's not too crazy, considering, you know, I'm kinda on a deserted island.

_Deserted._ Did I really hear voices coming from here? No, that's impossible. I doubt anyone's ever heard about this island. Even if there was civilization, would I hear it? Unless there were people chanting to some gods or something.

Oh great, what if this island is inhabited by, like, evil Native Americans, or something? Maybe they'd capture me and tie me over a fire as a sacrifice?

Wait, that's totally racist, not to mention very unlikely. Sorry, Native Americans who may be reading this.

I had nothing else to do, so I decided to start wandering. It wasn't that bad, really. As long as I stayed absentminded from the fact that I was alone in the middle of nowhere, I was able to keep calm and just observe my surroundings. First of all, there were lots of fruit trees. Seriously, they were everywhere. If I can somehow come home with all these fruits, I'd literally be super-happy. It would be awesome! There were cherries, apples, pineapples (as my misfortune had shown me earlier), cantaloupes, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, oranges, grapes… there were too many fruits to name! Lucky me.

I left the trees with a handful or bananas, oranges, and apples. I put an "X" in the sand to mark the area, so I remember where those trees were. Of course, the whole island was surrounded with fruit, so it wasn't really necessary to mark that specific spot. I started searching for other points of interest. This island consisted of things most people would expect: caves, lakes, and… wooden poles?

Okay, that's a little out of the ordinary. Why would anyone put wooden poles in the ground? Wait, _anyone!_ "Anyone" is a pronoun for people! There are people here! There are people here! Oh, thank god. I thought I was the only one to suffer here! Now I know I'm not alone. Yay.

Wait a minute, those poles could be ancient. Maybe they were put there for religious purposes from some tribal group? Maybe they were just put there to stomp on.

Geez, I'm thinking about Yoshi's Island at a time like this. What a low-life I am.

I decided not to venture further to the center of the island. The sound of the ocean was too nice; I don't live very close to the sea. It was so peaceful, and sleepy. Speaking of sleepy, I was getting quite drowsy. I guess the walking tired me out. It's been a while since I had to walk this far.

I reached into my pocket. There was a very slim chance my MP3 player survived. There's nothing like sleeping to the sound of waves combined with the song Forest Lullaby from Tetris Attack. As soon as I reached my pants pocket, I knew the water falling out wasn't a good sign of my music player's survival. I honestly didn't expect it to go through, considering the bottom half of my body was submerged in water when I fell unconscious.

I shrugged it off as I laid my fruits to the left of me. Lying on the sand, I started to close my eyes and reflect on my day.

I fell off a ship, got on a stranded on an island, and found fruit. What a swell day, don't you think?

Eventually the sound of the waves got lower and lower. Drowsiness eventually got the better of me. However, the drowsiness wasn't from sleepiness. It was from an outside source, possibly an herb. In my slumber, I was oblivious to the creature dragging me, rather roughly, away from my collection of fruits.

* * *

When I woke up for the second time that day, I didn't care to open my eyes. I was too sleepy, after all. I've been through a lot; can you give me a break?

My senses started to take the better of me. I instantly felt the soft feeling of grass upon my back. Wasn't I sleeping on the shoreline? Oh well, this feels nicer. Soon I was able to smell, and I was met with the aroma of fruits. What happened to the now-familiar smell of seawater? Surely I would have noticed it by now. When I was able to hear, I was met with more questions. Literally. First of all, I couldn't hear the ocean waves. It doesn't matter how long I was asleep; ocean waves always crash at least every few seconds. Then the voices came.

"Are you sure it's a human?"

"I'm positive! It looks just like them."

"What should we do with it?"

"I don't know. Maybe just wait until it wakes up."

I decided not to let them, whoever they are, not wait any longer. As I do whenever I wake up, I started to stretch. It was met with many gasps and sighs.

"Look, it's waking up!"

No, duh. Wait do you think I was doing; dying? When I gained enough energy, my eyelids open. As soon as I first saw what was in front of me, my immediate reaction was to yell. However, the shock of my situation, yet again, prevented me from doing anything.

The first thing that grabbed my attention was huge eyes that were staring at me. Seriously, they were huge. And tall. They were probably the size of my hand! Even if I don't have large hands, they're definitely larger than the average human eye.

That was the second thing that grabbed my attention. Whatever was looking at me wasn't human. First of all, they had different skin colors. From the second I surveyed them, I saw green, red, blue, yellow, pink… Argh, there are as many colors of them as there are fruit! Second of all, they seemed to have spikes, for lack of a better word. They were little, thin spikes that seemed to go all across their back. For some, they were fairly sharp, while others' spikes were more like mounds. Thirdly, though these things were not human, they knew how to accessorize. Most of them had what seemed to be saddles where their spikes ended. Maybe I was in a place with mutant horses. Furthermore, a few of them had simplistic shoes on, ranging from all colors. Then there were necklaces. Every creature seemed to have something different, and varied between them. There were shells, carved wood, carved rock, and other little charms.

Though I wanted to ask questions about all my recent observations, I simply asked one word. "Wha…?" Obviously, these things are able to speak English. Maybe I can communicate with them.

A large red creature, presumably their leader by the feather on its head, spoke in a warm, yet cautious voice. "Hello. My name is Tokipal. We couldn't help but notice you on our beach. Are you from here?"

That's right I'm not from here. Isn't it obvious by our different species? Oh well. "Err… no, I'm not. I fell off a cruise and washed up here."

One of the creatures, a light blue one, sighed. "I told you, Twilight, it's obviously not dangerous." Its voice was rather high. Maybe it was still young?

Another creature, a large navy one, presumably Twilight, replied, "Just because it claimed it washed up here doesn't mean it's innocent."

"You know, I have a gender," I interjected, annoyed of being referred to as "it." How would you feel if you were surrounded by people who just called you "that thing" or "it." Yeah, it doesn't feel good, does it?

"Sorry," Tokipal apologized, "we're not used to having people come here unless by the warp pipe."

Warp pipe? Is it…? No, it can't be. Get a grip on yourself, Lawrence, you're not thinking straight.

"What's your name?" another creature, this time a glistening silver one, inquired. By the sound of its voice, it was a female.

I cleared my throat, still shocked by the words that sounded remarkably like "warp pipe." Now able to talk, I respond, "M… my name is Lawrence."

"Lawrence, hmm?" pondered the silver creature. "You must be a male. Well, Lawrence, welcome to Yoshi's Island."

HOLY CRAP.

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Yes, I know it's not as long as the previous chapter. That's because the last chapter had all the background information that I KNOW everyone loves. Anyway, be sure to review! Just be sure not to flame, please.


	3. Why Dreams Shouldn't Come True

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi and any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

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* * *

Chapter 3 – Why Dreams Shouldn't Come True**

Surely I've misheard the creature. There is no way I'm on Yoshi's Island. No, just no. Get a grip on yourself, Lawrence, you're just hallucinating. Soon you'll be next to your nice, little pile of fruit. Yeah, I'm starting to feel a lot better.

Still, it would kinda make sense, after all. Now that I've had a second thought about these creatures, they do look like yoshies. For one thing, both species' eyes are ridiculously huge. The spikes on their backs also look remarkably like yoshi scales. Then there's the saddle, which may be a complete giveaway. Did I mention their noses? They're very spherical, with two nostrils at the end.

Holy crap, is this for real?

I try to calm myself. Maybe this is some kind of cruel, sick joke. Yeah, as if. Still, I urge to confirm my theory.

"Wait, I mustn't have heard you right," I say, trying to keep my cool. "Where am I?"

The dark blue one sighed. "You humans must not hear well. You're on Yoshi's Island."

Okay, so it turns out I was wrong. Maybe I really am on Yoshi's Island. Could it really be? It really would make sense, considering these things _do _look like yoshies. But how could I have gotten here? Everything is created by Nintendo! Yoshies, Yoshi's Island, warp pipes… all this is fictional!

Unless…

Unless Shigeru Miyamoto actually came here by accident, saw these creatures, was inspired, and created Yoshi as a video game character!

…Nah, that just sounds like some plot someone made up. Oh well.

"You seemed shocked," Tokipal realized. "Is there something wrong?"

I stared at him. Of course, absolutely nothing's wrong. It's not like I thought you all were fictional. It's not like this place shouldn't exist. It's not like I'm being confronted by things that I thought only were in video games. It's not like I'm going in denial this very second. Yeah, everything's swell.

Able to snap out of my trance, I replied, "Yeah, I kinda am. I mean, I didn't know yoshies existed in real life."

"What?" exclaimed the light blue yoshi. "Why would you think that? All of civilization knows of us!"

"Wait, wait! I mean, I knew about your species, it's just…" I thought about how to put this diligently. I obviously couldn't say I knew them from a video game. "It's just that I read about your kind from books. I thought you were just another kind of mythical creature." Seemed good.

Tokipal spoke again. "That seems plausible. Might I ask how you got here?"

"Well, I was on a cruise, but I fell off."

Turning my head, I could see Twilight stifle a giggle. Nice guy.

"You fell off?" a pink yoshi, who I hadn't noticed until just now, chirped. "That must have hurt! All you alright?"

Now having the energy to stand up, I replied with, "Yeah, I'll live. I'm alive now, aren't I?"  
"True."

That was an interesting conversation, to say the least. Still, I wanted my fruit. Or a way home. I'd prefer the latter. I began to walk out of the area, which I concluded to be a hut.

"Where are you going, Lawrence?" I already knew the sound of Tokipal's voice.

I turned around. "I had a stash of fruit where I was before I ended up here. I'm gonna go get it."

"Not in the dark, you aren't," pink yoshi countered in a motherly tone. "Besides, we have lots of fruit in our gardens. Feel free to have some of that."

I could have sworn I heard a voice in my head go, "SCORE!" when I heard those last words.

"By the way, none of us have really introduced ourselves. I already said my name is Lawrence, and I know your"-I pointed to the red yoshi-"name is Tokipal."

"Please," Tokipal insisted with a hand raised slightly, "call me chief."

With a small grin, I said, "Sure thing, chief."

"My name's Aquarius," stated the light blue yoshi.

The pink yoshi followed suit, cheerfully saying, "I'm Rosa!"

Silver yoshi continued the trend. "My name is Crystal."

I looked at the last remaining yoshi, the indigo one. He broke our train of name telling. Sob. "I take it you're Twilight?"

His head jerked up in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I heard light bl—er, Aquarius talk to you when I first woke up. Judging by how he called you 'Twilight,' I assumed that was your name."

Twilight gave Aquarius a quick glance before heading out of the hut.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, curious to the yoshi's quiet personality.

I was met with a sigh from Crystal. "He's not really the talkative type."

"Yeah," added in Rosa. "He doesn't greet anyone, either. Every morning he leaves everyone to go to the ocean. He doesn't come back until sunset."

Maybe I heard his voice before I washed up here? Now's not the time to get lost in my thoughts; there's a conversation going on. "Does he have a family?"

"Yep," replied Aquarius, a little wistfully. "I'm his brother."

Sucks to be him. I would hate to be related to that creature that doesn't seem to have any emotion towards anything.

Tokipal clapped his hands. "Now for more important matters. Lawrence, would you like a tour of our village? You can stop by the garden to pick up some fruit."

The word "fruit" had me. "Sure, why not?"

We all proceeded out of the hut. The chief and I said our goodbyes to the other three yoshies. I looked up at the sky. It was a hue of purple; the sun was probably setting. Have I really already been here for half a day? It felt like only two hours. Then again, I was unconscious for the majority of the time, so that's to be expected.

"Let us begin the tour," the crimson yoshi stated to me. He began walking to an area of huts, and I followed him. "These are the living areas of us yoshies. There is one hut for each family." There were only a few yoshies still outside. The rest must have gone inside for the night. Human or not, everything needs rest. With a smile, the chief added, "We'll make one for you tomorrow. But for tonight, you will sleep at my hut."

We then proceeded to travel down a dirt pathway. He pointed to the left with one of his chubby fingers. "That is the garden. Go ahead, take as many fruits as you would like."

I didn't really consider it a garden. I considered it more of a FREAKING HUGE STASH OF FRUITS. Seriously, there were at least ten different types of fruits, all separated from each other in barrels. Organized people, aren't they? I looked inside each barrel, taking a handful from most. After the third barrel (and still plenty more to go), my hands were nearly full. I felt a tap on my shoulder as the chief yoshi handed me a bag of leather. I assumed it was for my fruits, and dumped them all into the sack.

The bag was nearly triple its original size when I was done picking my snacks. Now content, I held onto the heavy load as we continued on the tour. We continued down the pathway, which now forked into two roads.

"That road leads to the beach," Tokipal continued. "I'm sure you know fairly well about the shore by now." He then pointed to the opposite road. "That leads outside the village. That's where all the other tribes, as well as the great mountains, are."

Wow. Mountains, forests, it's a wonder how humans haven't discovered this place yet. Maybe this place is a lot further into the ocean than I thought. Geez, our cruise must have taken us _far_.

"That's all there is to the village," concluded Tokipal. As we walked back to his hut, I couldn't help but notice a jingling sound. When I turned to my yoshi companion to ask if he heard it, I realized the source of the sound was a cool necklace of several seashells.

"Where'd you get that necklace?" I asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

Taking aback by my sudden question, the chief looked down at the source of my question. "Oh, this? Odin made this. A lot of yoshies request necklaces. He gives the first one free, but then he wants a fair trade after the next one."

I reply with a simple nod as we arrive back at Tokipal's hut. The sun has already made it to the other side of the world, shining its glorious warmth on them. In other words, it's now night time.

"It's getting late," states my newfound friend. "You should try to rest. It's been a long day, I assume?"

Let's see, I arrived on a seemingly deserted island, got hit with spiky pineapples, wound up in a yoshi village, and went into denial at least three times.

"Yeah, it's been a long day."

Tokipal motions to what appears to be a couch. "You can sleep there for tonight."

"Thanks," I reply, walking towards the sofa. I lay down on it. Man, I haven't been on a bed in a while. A couch is close enough.

I'm not sure what can happen to me, now. I've just found myself on Yoshi's Island. Swell. Did they already defeat baby Bowser? I don't know about you, but I don't want to run into a giant, mutant baby turtle. Maybe the storylines from the video games don't exist. Maybe this is simply just a normal group of animals who just-so-happened to be real.

Argh, I'm too tired to think straight. With a simple shrug, I decide to leave all this off until the morning. I close my eyes and try to sleep soundly.

* * *

Okay, that was the third chapter. I won't be able to update this story for a while, since I'm going to be going to Denver for a few days. Make sure to review, and share with people who you think may enjoy this fic!

On a side note, have you realized my chapters are getting shorter and shorter? This can't be good.


	4. Chats, Travels, Thoughts

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi and any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

**

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Chapter 4 – Chats, Travels, Thoughts**

You know how sometimes it's hard to sleep because you're excited? Well, something similar is happening to me right now. I mean, how often are you able to get in a world that you never knew actually existed? I don't know about you, but it's exciting for me.

After failing to fall asleep after two hours of lying awake in the couch, I decided to get up for a bit. My eyes soon opened, and I was met with the now familiar sight of the interior of Tokipal's hut. It is, by all means, decorative. Though I can't see too well in the moonlight, I remembered the colorful paintings hanging around the room. They were of the ocean, the sky, and lots of other scenery. The little hut also had some furniture. It obviously had the sofa, but there were also some chairs and tables. Though almost everything was made of wood, the house had a very lively and colorful feel to it.

Right, I'm still awake.

I tried to go back to sleep, but I was now wide awake after thinking about my surroundings. What can I do to make myself tired again? I probably need to get acquainted with Yoshi's Island. I don't want to break into people's houses just to meet them; it seems especially stalkerish in the middle of the night. After a few seconds on pondering, I decided to just wander the island.

Making sure to be quiet, I started out of the couch. I looked around. It was pitch black, and the only things I could hear were the crickets outside and the steady breathing of the village's chief. I started feeling around my surroundings, trying to find the door. After a minute or two of searching (which probably would have made me look like an idiot), I finally found the exit. I started to open the door, and it unfortunately made a loud creaking sound. I winced, looking back at Tokipal. He was still asleep. I didn't want to worry him or anything, since I was a stranger. Some of the other yoshies were skeptical of my innocence, so I was just hoping he didn't feel the same.

Trying to shrug off my previous thoughts, I stepped outside. The moonlight from the sky was a warm welcome in contrast to the darkness of the hut. With a final squeak, I closed the door behind me.

I was always a fan of starlit skies, and this setting was surely no exception. The sky was very different from what you'd see in a city. In cities, there are a whole bunch of airplanes, buildings, and other crap that make the stars invisible. Here, however, I was exposed to the sky in its purest form. Every star glistened a different color, reminding me somewhat of Christmas lights. The moon was brighter than I had every seen before, and was a slight tint of yellow. Usually bright moons seemed odd and freaky, but this moon had more of a tranquil feel to it. The scenery was so perfect, unlike anything I had see-

SQUEAK.

"What are you still doing up?"

I turned around hastily, jumping up as I did so. In front of me was Tokipal, in all of his red-skinned and feather-headed glory.

"Chief!" I shouted, a little loudly. "Erm, uh… I couldn't sleep. I decided to look around the island. I mean, if you don't mind. Well, what are you still doing up?"

Tokipal walked up to me. "I heard the door squeak. I really need Odin to fix that," he added, chuckling. "I was only half awake. It's not very often where we see a human. In fact, you have been the first one in several decades."

"I'm not the only one?" I asked him. "Who else was there?"

"You probably know them," chief replied. "They're the legendary Mushroom Kingdom heroes, Mario and Luigi."

I had to force myself to shout, "OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY'RE REAL TOO!" Instead, I just choked on my words.

"I'm surprised you haven't heard of the tale," Tokipal inquired, shaking his head.

I was able to regain my composure. "No, it's not that. It's just…" Ah, why can't I think of excuses now? "It's just that I didn't know it was only a few decades ago." Pretty good, I guess.

"Yes, around forty-two years, to be exact."

Let's see… the Mario brothers just born when the events of Yoshi's Island took place. That means they're in their early forties now. How can they still jump around like that?

More importantly, the Mario brothers exist, and so does the Mushroom Kingdom. I would say I could meet them. After all, it's a once in a lifetime chance. However, knowing my luck, I would either get fried by Bowser or be a fail and get stepped on by a goomba. It's too risky.

Furthermore, I don't even know if there's a way to easily get to the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario and Luigi were sent by the stork, and yoshies probably get there through ships and stuff. I don't think these guys have the technology to make a cruise ship, or anything more than a simple boat. For now, I'm just gonna stay here for a bit, at least to gain their trust. Then, I'll ask them how to get to civilization. I mean, there's had to have been ONE human from America that came to Yoshi's Island, or at least some known country. It could have been recorded, too. There's probably at least some books ar-

"Are you okay, Lawrence?"

Right, I'm still here. I need to remember that time doesn't stop when I try to think several thoughts at once. "Uh, yeah. I've just been thinking. Nothing important."

Tokipal nodded. "Oh, alright. You said you wanted to look around the island?"

"Oh yeah! I'm just going to familiarize myself with everything. After all, it seems like I might be here for a while."

"Alright. Just don't go too far, this island is a lot larger than it may seem. Good night, Lawrence."

"Night."

I waved one last time to the chief, and he went back in his hut. I turned back around, looking around. I started to walk towards the huts. Now that I wasn't in a rush, I paid more attention to everything. The first thing I noticed was that there were names carved into wood on top of each doorway. I recognized the names Crystal, Twilight, and Odin. If Twilight and Aquarius like in the same hut, then the names are probably of the oldest person living there. I looked back at Tokipal's hut to see the word "Chief" engraved in the wood. I guess they use the same wood for every chief.

I looked back at the nametags in front of me. Odin, that's the guy who makes the necklaces, right? I guess he wouldn't mind me peeking in his window. After all, he's asleep, and what he doesn't know can't hurt.

Stepping up to the opening in the wood, I stuck my head in. Not very much protection, is there? It's a wonder that no one steals with this little protection. They must be very civilized. At least more so than half of the human population.

Right, I have to be a stalker. Geez, I get distracted easily, don't I? I took a few peeks around the room. There were many shelves and random posts around the wall. There were lots of strings and shells scattered across the dusty floor. Near the window was a table with a few tools: knives, a hammer, a chisel, some stones, some wood, and other stuff that I can't name. I looked at the very corner of the house to see a large brown yoshi sleeping on a bed. He was wearing a necklace of his own. From the scarce light coming though, I was able to make out what looked to be a feather carved from wood. Wow, this guy is pretty crafty. I need to ask him for one of those necklaces tomorrow.

After stalker time was over, I decided to sneak over to the garden—er, I mean FREAKING HUGE STASH OF FRUITS—and get a quick snack. After searching the barrels, I settled on a large banana. I peeled the skin and continued on.

I came to the forked road where we stopped the tour. If I remember correctly, the left path lead outside the village into the heart of the island, while the right path led to the shore. Since I was fairly used to the shore, I decided to take the right path.

I began down the dusty road. It wasn't before long when I heard the sound of waves crashing. After some fifteen more seconds of walking, the dirt underneath me gradually changed to sand. More and more trees cleared up until I was exposed to the beach in all of its awesome glory. My time here this morning was cut short when I was dragged to the village. I decided to just sit in the sand next to the shortline and think.

This sure is a change from a normal life, isn't it? I'm stripped of my life, my friends, and any communication from humans. When I was a young kid, I always imagined being in Mario's world as fun, exciting, and carefree. I mean, I've lived many of my childhood fantasies. I've always wanted to see a yoshi in real life, and imagined what it would be like to be able to ride one. Yet, I didn't realize how much my life would change.

I'm away from my family and friends. They're not here. If I was anywhere else on Earth, I could be able to call them every once in a while to say hello. All of this was so sudden. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. Nature decided to ever-so-graciously push me into the water and drag me to this island. Not a very nice way to get into a fantasy, is it? The only thing different is that I, amazingly, don't like this fantasy.

I feel my eyes start to water, and I don't do anything to stop it. Suddenly, I hear an instrument, probably a flute or ocarina, playing a sad tune. I don't know if it's in my head or on the island, and I don't care. It's just another thing I can't do now: try to play an instrument. I had this odd urge to play an ocarina, but can I do that now? No! I'm stuck on this freaking island in the middle of freaking nowhere! I can't get any communication to humans, and I'm probably going to be stuck here for the rest of my life!

When I first came out of the hut, I thought the sheer experience of walking would tire me down. It was my tears that eventually brought me into a slumber of despair.

* * *

Yep, that's the chapter! Sorry it took so long to update; I came back to Denver and got greeted with homework. Standardized testing is also next week, so I'm going to be very busy. Still, I'm going to try to update at least once a week.

I'm also considering changing this story to be rated T. It's just because of very mild themes, but I just want to be safe. After all, I remember reading some T stories when I was around 10. They were pretty good, too.

Be sure to review! I also need your critique. If you know people who would enjoy this story, be sure to pass it on to them! Just be sure not to mention it's a self insert. I know half of the community doesn't like self inserts, but I hope they will be pleasantly surprised when they read this!

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	5. Freakiness and Motherliness

Okay, I really hate this chapter. Seriously. I was kinda late on the update, so I had to rush a little so I wouldn't feel all guilty. The result is... this. Ugh. It's more of a filler chapter than anything. It provides a little more insight into some characters, though, so it's not completely useless. It just sucks. Hope you enjoy anyway.

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi and any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

**

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Chapter 5 – Freakiness and Motherliness**

"What are you doing here?"

Being asleep, I couldn't hear the voice. It was when I was shook rather violently when I started to awaken.

"Ergh… huh?"

My vision began to become clearer. After a few more seconds of being in a daze, I was able to make out a navy blue shape in front of me.

"Twilight?"

The reply was a small grunt. Yep, definitely him.

"Again, what are you doing here?"

I shook my head, trying to gain energy. I was now able to see clearly. My attention was focused on a small flute-like instrument that the yoshi was holding. Maybe it was him that I was hearing last night?

"Well?"

I snapped out of my small trance and looked right at Twilight.

"Argh… I was sleeping," I pouted, still tired. "I couldn't sleep in Tok- err, the chief's hut. I decided to wander when I fell asleep here."

Twilight sighed. "Of course." He started walking towards a clearing in the trees. That's probably where I came from. "Well?" he shouted, not looking back at me. "Are you going back to the village or not?"

Realizing he was leaving without me, I started after him. It was a good fifteen seconds before I caught up to him. As we walked together, there was an awkward silence. Argh, I'm too used to all of the conversations back at home.

AHH I WANT TO GO HOME.

Never mind, I shouldn't think about that now. It would only lead me to another breakdown. Geez, I've been here for a day and I've already broken down? No, Lawrence, this isn't a good sign.

Right, the eerie silences. Nothing breaks the quiet like a good ol' conversation with a stranger, right?

"So…" I start, trying to think of a topic. That's right, best start ever. Once again, my attention is diverted to the flute that's clutched in Twilight's hand… paw… whatever. "What is that?"

"What is what?" the yoshi asks, not making eye contact. Nice guy, really.

"The instrument thing." I point to the wooden object in Twilight's hands to emphasize my question.

"It's a flute. Are you too dumb to know what a flute is?"

Real nice. "No, I just wanted to make sure. Do you play?"

"If I didn't, would I have it right now?"

"Oh, right. Well… were you playing last night? Early in the morning?"

Now Twilight makes eye contact. I must say, having those dark crimson eyes bore into your soul is frightening. "How did you know?"

I end up closing my eyes, remembering the sound of the tune. Also to not have to look into the yoshi's eyes. "It was when I came to the beach. Before I fell asleep, I heard music. I'm guessing that was you."

"Yes, I come to the beach every so often to play."

I open my eyes. Yay, he's not staring at me! "In the middle of the night? Why?"

"It's the only time I'm not interrupted," Twilight says with a scowl. Maybe he just doesn't like talking about it.

"Oh, okay," I mumble, deciding to leave the topic. I don't like this guy. At all.

The yoshi looks ahead. "We're getting closer to the village."

I look in the same direction as him, but all I see are more trees. "How do you know?"

"I've been here longer than you. I know more than you."

You're so kind, Twilight! You're so modest, too! There are so many sarcastic things I could tell him, but I settle with, "Alright."

And so, the rest of the walk is in silence. The remainder was only a minute anyway, so it's to be expected.

The path converges with another path, and I'm greeted by the village. This is my first time seeing this place during the day, isn't it? It's a lot livelier that during the night. There are many creatures scurrying about, carrying on with god-knows-what. I glance over to see a couple of young yoshies playing what looks to be hopscotch. Near the garden (which I need to make another visit to, by the way), a purple yoshi was watering plants. Countless others were simply conversing about several topics: the weather, the gods, and the human that suddenly appeared on the island.

I realize that Twilight already walked on without me, so I decide to observe my surroundings some more. I look over at the huts. Some have a few doors open, but there isn't really anything to be seen. What catches my eye is the pile of wood that is in an open space nearby one of the huts. Tokipal did say my hut was to be built today, so maybe that's what it's for. I don't think any new families have moved in or anything, so I'm fairly sure I'm correct.

Speaking of Tokipal, where is he? Most of the tribe is already up and running, so he should be, too. After all, wouldn't he be the head of the building project? He must be a heavy sleeper if he can still be dozed off through all of this noise.

Deciding to search for my answer, I make my way to the chief's hut. I get a few awkward glances from the creatures around me, but I decide to shrug it off. I don't want to leave a bad impression, do I? A few notice that I'm walking towards their leader's home, and one yoshi, a purple one, runs at me.

"What are you doing?" it asks, its voice indicating that it's a female. "Don't you know that's the chief's hut?"

Gee, I dunno. I don't think the giant sign saying "CHIEF" is a giveaway. Nonetheless, I decide not to use my sarcasm. I'll use it once I'm friends with them. Evil laugh. "Yeah, I'm going to see if he's awake."

She puts her hands on her hips. "You must be Lawrence. Rosa told me about you. I understand you're excited about having your hut built, but now's not the time to bother him."

"Why?" I question, a little annoyed. "He's just sleeping, isn't he?"

The yoshi gasped in surprise. "Hardly! He's praying to the gods that they will protect all the inhabitants of this village." I frown a little, but it's still noticeable. "That includes you," the creature adds.

Yay, I feel loved now. Sarcasm is evident. "Oh, okay. You said Rosa told you about me. Are you friends with her, or something?"

My reply is a small chuckle. "No, I'm her mother. My name is Purpelie. It comes from the color purple."

"So it seems," I say, noting the similarities between "Purpelie" and "Purpley." The "pel" is just emphasized rather than the "ley." Right, enough about similarities of word pronunciations.

"Do you want to meet the other yoshies of the island?" Purpelie asks me. "I'm sure they'd like to meet a human."

Argh, racism. Or, speciesism. Whatever. "Sure, I guess. If chief's still praying, I might as well spend time being productive." I shoot a glance at the garden. "Right after a quick breakfast."

I hear another chuckle before I make my way to the fruit stash. Purpelie sure seems motherly. I wonder how the other yoshies will react to my presence. I'm sure a good few (namely children) will be all like, "Oooh! Your tongue is short! You're weird!" Of course, as I was proven by my new yoshi friend, I'm bad at telling yoshi ages. I'll get used to it.

Let's see, I'm on good terms with Tokipal. I seem to be good with Purpelie, and Aquarius and Crystal are neutral right now. Rosa is a little annoying, and I don't like Twilight. I feel like he's gonna drive me insane with those eyes of his. Seriously, I've never seen red eyes before. No, I don't mean dry eyes, I mean _real_ red eyes. It's freaky.

Grabbing a banana, I look at how many huts and yoshies there are. Let's see, there are thirteen huts. Assuming each hut has at least two creatures in them, that means they're at least twenty-six creatures to meet.

Oh, this is going to be fun! Oh, how I love sarcasm!

* * *

Yeah. You might not hate it as much as I do, but I hate it. Still. I would have written the whole meeting with all of the yoshies, but it's big enough to be its own chapter. And I like cliffhangers. Except this isn't really one. Besides, I like the somewhat uniformity of the length of my chapters. Except this one is really short. ARGH I HATE THIS CHAPTER.

Yeah, review, critisize, share. Just no flames, please.


	6. Meet and Greet

Horray, a good chapter! I'm sorry about the delay again, I'm really busy with schoolwork. And I'm lazy. Seriously, should you expect a lot from a 7th grader? I don't think so.

Yeah, this chapter is mainly about meeting and greeting several yoshies. Also an attempt to put life into these lifeless things we call "characters." And a cliffhanger at the end. 'Cause I know you all love cliffhangers.

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi and any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Meet and Greet**

Okay, so this is gonna be hard. There are at least twenty yoshies out now. Considering there are… let's see… thirteen huts, and there has to be at least two in each, I'm guessing this is gonna take a while.

Munching on my banana, I start to stroll along the sandy village. I get a few odd looks thrown at me, considering, y'know, I'm a human. One small one even runs away into its hut. Poor guy, I didn't mean to scare him. Her. I dunno, I can't tell the difference unless I hear their voice. There isn't really any other way as far as I can tell, since the colors are just luck and not gender-based.

Right, I'm getting off topic again. Must meet yoshies.

I trudge on, noticing a small pink yoshi playing what appears to be hopscotch. Hey, wasn't that-

"Oh, hello Lawrence!" the yoshi greets, now turning to face me. "It's me, Rosa. Remember, from yesterday?"

Yep, I recognize that loud voice. It's almost Japanese-anime like. Which is creepy.

"Hey, Rosa," I reply. "I'm just trying to make myself acquainted with everyone here." With a frown, I add, "I may be here for a while."

"Alright," the yoshi replies cheerfully. Happy-go-lucky much? "Do you want me to help you?"

"Nah, it's alright. You can continue playing, and I'll meet everyone."

Rosa's shoulders start to sag, but she soon pops back up with reasoning. "Are you sure? Some of them might feel a little awkward talking to a human. Having one of their own kind may make them feel a little more comfortable."

Discrimination much? "I guess," I sigh.

Rosa squeals and runs right to my side. Ugh, this is gonna be annoying.

We start to walk around, seeing several yoshies along the way. With every one we pass, Rosa introduces me to them.

"Hi, Sunny. You know the human that washed up here, right? Well, this is him!" She flashes her hands at me, expecting me to make some kind of epic entrance. The problem is that I'm already here.

"Yeah, I've heard of you," the yellow yoshi says. He's quite tall, about a foot or so taller than me. Of course, they have to be ideal for mounting, so it's understandable. Heck, Rosa is young, yet she's almost as tall as me. I blame my shortness. "I've been wanting to meet you. My name's Sunny."

"Hello," I greet him. "My name's Lawrence. I didn't know yoshies actually existed, really. I read about them in books, but I didn't know they were real." I make sure to keep my story about the books, making sure they don't freak out if I say "YOU'RE FROM VIDEO GAMES!"

Nonetheless, Sunny looks wide eyed at me. "Really? I thought all other civilizations knew of us. Hmm, that's different, I guess."

"Yeah…"

Rosa decides it's time to move on. "Well, Sunny, Lawrence. We've had our fun, but it's time he meets others." The pink yoshi grabs my arm with a shout of, "Onwards!" Wow, she's really over the top. And anime like. It's kinda scary.

We continue on, and it's mere seconds before we see yet another yoshi. This time, it's a green yoshi. I coulda sworn for a second that I thought it was THE yoshi, as in the one in all the video games.

"Hi, Cami!" Rosa greets. I swear, I thought she meant Kammy the mother of Kamek. Or something like that. I can't remember; I have yoshies to meet.

"Hey, Rosa," the creature replies. It's a female. "This is the human, huh?" She walks up to me and compares herself to me. "It's a bit shorter than I expected."

Gee, I'm made fun of because of my height and get called an "it." I try to restrain my slight annoyance. "Yeah, I'm short. There's not much I can do about it."

"I guess," she says with a shrug. "I've never seen a human before. My name's Cami." When I blink at her, she continues, "It's short for Camouflage. My color is good for sneaking."

"Cam-my?" I retort. "Isn't camouflage pronounced as 'cam-ih?'"

"Yeah, but 'cam-my' sounds better," she laughs. "Well, what's your name?"

"My name's Lawrence." I relay my story to her, along with my lie of, "Oh yeah, you're definitely not from a video game and definitely from a book. Note my lying, because I'm awesome like that."

Cami opens her mouth to reply, but she stops herself when she realizes I'm not looking at her. I'm looking at another yoshi. It's a brown one bearing a necklace that seems to have a feather shaped out of wood. I remember my stalker time last night.

"Hey, Rosa," I ask the pink yoshi who was previously dragged out of the conversation. "Is that Odin?"

She looks at the direction to which I'm pointing. "Oh, yeah. That's him. How did you know?"

"I saw the chief's necklace and couldn't help but asking." I look around her neck. "You have one, too?"

Rosa giggles a little. "Yep! I couldn't resist; everybody loves his craftsmanship."

I notice the excruciating detail of the yoshi's necklace. It was a wooden carving in the shape of a flower. The pedals and the… center part… were carved in a way that gave the illusion that they were popping out. The center part also seemed to have a slight texture to it.

When I reach out to hold it, my hand is quickly slapped away. "You can get your own," Rosa says, a little sharply. Mood swings, argh. Though she quickly looks peppy again, and adds, "He's very nice with people. Especially newcomers, since they try to fit in. And since you're a human… yeah, you're gonna need some fitting in to do."

_Please resist the urge to slap the pink creature in front of you,_ my brain orders. I luckily obey it. "Erm, sure."

I turn to Cami, about to share farewells with her. I get a little disheartened when I see her playing with her own necklace. Like most of the others I've seen, it's made of wood. This charm, however, is in the shape of a tree. I guess it kinda makes sense. Cami is good for camouflage, so hers is in the shape of a tree. Rosa's name probably comes from rose, which is a flower. Her necklace is a flower. Tokipal's was a string of seashells, wasn't it? I guess it's 'cause he's chief and stuff. Aquarius… he had a single seashell, didn't he? I don't remember Crystal's or Twilight's. Come to think of it actually, I remember seeing a slight shine when I was talking to Twilight. Maybe his necklace was shiny or something.

WAH TOO MANY YOSHIES.

Wait, so what would mine be? I don't think Odin can tell I'm good with video games, so he probably won't shape mine in a D-Pad. That'd be cool, though. I honestly don't know what I should ask mine too be shaped in.

"Hey! Lawrence!"

I blink when I hear Rosa's shrill voice nearly pierce my eardrum. Well, almost. It still hurt.

"Huh?" I stupidly utter. Geez, how long was I zoned out for?  
"You kept ignoring me for the past minute," the yoshi states plainly. I realize then that Cami is already gone. "You want to meet Odin, right? Well, he's over there." She points to her right, towards the huts. I see the brown yoshi conversing with Sunny near the pile of wood that's soon to be my hut. I think that's them. I dunno, there may be two yoshies of the same color and I might get them confused. I guess that's what the necklaces are for.

Trying not to get sidetracked again, I decide to stroll towards Odin. I try to stifle a groan when I realize that Rosa's following me. Sure, she has a point with the whole "fitting in with your own species" thing, but she's annoying. She has mood swings. And she's like an over-the-top anime character. Nothing ticks me off more than that.

No, Twilight doesn't tick me off. Yet. I just get scared by him.

'Kay, we're nearing Odin now. Don't sidetrack, don't sidetrack…

"Hi Odin!"

Ow, my ears.

I see Rosa grab a brown yoshi's attention. Tall, feather necklace… yep, that's Odin.

He steps up to us. "Oh, hello, Rosa!" The yoshi shifts his attention to me. "Is he the human?"

No, Odin. I'm an angel! Watch me float. Oh wait, I can't. Do you know why? It's because I'M OBVIOUSLY A HUMAN, SO I'D KINDA FAIL AT THE WHOLE FLOATING THING.

I kinda wish I'd have said that, but instead I settle with, "Yep."

"Pleasure to meet you," Odin says to me, reaching forward to offer a handshake. I accept it. He's not that bad. Besides, y'know, asking for answers to obvious questions.

"Same here," I answer casually.

"It's interesting to think about civilizations who haven't heard about us," he retorts. Sunny must have told him about that. "By now we thought everyone has heard of our kind."

"I can say the same thing," I counter with a slight chuckle. "It's kinda weird hearing everyone say things like, 'Are you a human?' or 'Where's your long tongue?' or 'Your nose is tiny!'"

Odin laughs at my little dilemma. "Don't worry, they're just curious. Not many people have been to the main civilizations."

My eyes widen. "You've been in the areas where I live?"

"Not me," he replies, shaking his head. "A few others have, though. They say the technology is much more advanced than ours."

"Very true. Wait, then how come you don't use any of it?"

"Oh, we do. We just use it sparingly. The chiefs always wanted this yoshi tribe to be a simple, cooperative group. They don't want us to get corrupt, like some people in other civilizations do when they get their hands on technology."

"Of course. I understand."

With a small smile, Odin adds, "Though it helps to take advantage of such luxuries every once in a while."

"Hehe, yeah."

The brown yoshi seems to turn back. It's when his necklace twirls that I remember why I came to him.  
"Wait!" I holler, trying to grab his attention.

He turns back to me. "Yes?"

"You make those necklaces, right?"

"Yes," Odin tells me, smiling. "I see you're interested. Everyone is. Would you like one? The first one is free."

I grin. "Of course! The only thing is that I don't know what the charm should be."

"Take your time," the creature replies. At first I thought it was of relief that he doesn't have to make it now. I dismiss that idea when he continues, "The more time you think about it, the more revealing of your personality it will be, and the more grand it will be."

Okay, I like this guy. He's awesome. "Thanks, Odin!"

"How'd you know my name?"

Oops. "I asked the chief where he got his necklace. He said you made it."

"That's right," he says, smiling. "I made it for him when he became chief."

Wait, hasn't Tokipal been the chief for a long time? It sure seems like it. Odin's not that old, either. I think. So… how did-

As if reading my mind, Odin tells me, "Tokipal became the chief no less than a few moon cycles ago."

I blink my eyes cluelessly.

"Oh, do you follow the day, week, and month system? Try to think of it as… let's see… I'd say he's been chief for… maybe two months. That's a rough estimate, though."

"Really?" I ask. "He seems really experienced. How could he have only been chief for a few months?"

Odin closes his eyes. "His father taught him well."

I can see he's reminiscing on a touchy subject, so I decide not to bring it further. I turn my head around and notice that Tokipal is actually awake. Sweet.

"Well, I have to ask the chief a few questions," I tell Odin. "I'll see you later."

He waves. "Alright. Bye."

I start to run in the opposite direction until I accidentally smash into someone, causing them to fall.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see where I was-"

Ah crap it's Rosa.

"Hmph," she pouts, standing up. Mood swings commence. "Well, you didn't even say goodbye to me. You were too busy talking with Odin and forgot about me!"

Ah awkwardness. I hate this. "Err… goodbye?"

Before she can take a more violent mood, I dash off in the direction of my favorite feather-bearing red yoshi. A.K.A. Tokipal.

"I see you're excited," he speculates, already knowing he's right.

"Yeah," I nod.

He chuckles. "Don't worry, we're going to start the building of your hut shortly."

"Sweet," I say.

Awesome, I'm getting a home.

Home.

Home.

HOME.

Grr, why can't I go home already? I can't think of why I just realized this, but why should I be here in the first place? I just need to be on the awesome cruise ship with my awesome friends in the middle of the awesome Atlantic Ocean. But noooo, I have to be stuck with an island full of fictional creatures who are now building me a home.

I don't know why, but the thought of having a home here makes my think that I'm gonna stay here forever. That wouldn't be fun. I wanna go to my real home, plop on my bed, call my friends, and tell them to never joke about going to a fiction place. In all seriousness, it sucks. I'd rather believe that this is some sick prank pulled by everyone on Earth to test if I can retain my sanity than this be real. I just want the ship to come over and pick me off of this place.

I hear a horn in the far off distance.

* * *

Yeah, this chapter is the longest to date. Yay.

I've been fairly disappointed with the length of my chapters recently. They've gone from sub-1,900 down to sub-1,400. That's not good. So, I'm announcing that the new standard for chapters will be 2,000 words. Excluding the disclaimer and author's notes. Those will never count.

I'm also changing my update schedule to AT MOST once every 1.5 weeks. I'm too lazy to write quickly. I hate writer's block, too. Hopefully when summer break comes it will be easier. But alas, it is six weeks away. Shame.

Read, Review, Critique. But if you flame I will hunt you down and go caniballistic on you. Or just rant. That works, too.


	7. To Crush a Dream

Hmm... a good 2,300+ words. That's the longest chapter so far! I'm proud.

This chapter has a lot of content. It closes up the cliffhanger from last chapter, and sets up the true reason this story is here. Or something. I'm blabbing again.

There are some surprises in here. For example, I bet a bunch of you thought this story would just take place on Yoshi's Island. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

And a note. When you come to a spot that is only conversation, it is a mini conversation in third person. If it doesn't involve Lawrence, then he doesn't know about it. I just do that because I usually have stories in third person, and having the reader only know the protagonist's point of view kinda bugs me. It's a pet peeve. Of course, I don't want to provide too much information, which is why there are no extra words other than the quotes. I may do this in future chapters.

So yeah, enjoy the chapter!

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi or any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

**

* * *

Chapter 7 – To Crush a Dream**

Seriously, was that really a horn? It definitely sounded like it. I may be still a little dazed from landing on this island, but I'm pretty sure that sound was a horn of some sorts.

Was it from a ship?

It didn't sound like it, but hey, maybe they brought a different horn onto the island and used that. I don't really care. It's a horn. It's not from these yoshies.

There are others on the island.

Oh thank god, they may be a rescue team or something! I can't believe it! I'm going home, away from these stupid creatures.

I just dissed yoshies.

Haven't I, y'know, been wanted to see a yoshi since I was five? Wasn't it my childhood dream? I could have found a yoshi, have it hatch, raise it, and everything would be happily ever after. It was my childhood fantasy.

But I'm not a child.

This is reality. I know what I need after being on this blasted island.

I need my home.

I need a plan to get to that ship. To those people. To the key to my home.

"What was that?" I decide to ask, keeping a mask of confusion.

Tokipal clenched his fists. "We already know what they are. They came close by a little before you came, actually."

Hmm, they hate the main civilization? Don't they use the technology every once in a while or something? "Should I go scout?" I'll just run away. Everything will be fine.

"No," the red yoshi disagreed. "It may be dangerous."

Hello, I'm a human! I'm one of them! Eh, I need more excuses. "Um, it's alright. I'll go, and I'll be fine, trust me."

I hear a shout of "Lawrence, wait!" when I make a dash for the exit.

I hear several different thoughts rush through my head. _You're leaving all home these yoshies home at the home village don't you feel home odd about home leaving your home childhood dreams?_

I've only been here a day. One day. I'm already sick of it.

I want my home. I want my friends. Sure, this is neat, but I want to be actually prepared for this. To have my old friends with me. To not go crazy.

I reach the fork. Hearing the horn again, I dash for the right path.

"Lawrence, don't!"

Don't what? Don't go home? Don't go back to your normal life? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want my boring life back, where yoshies and all of this were fiction.

The trees around me go from thick to thin. The view in front of me clears up, revealing a blue, cloudless sky. Past the sand, the ocean is calm as ever.

I hear the horn once again, much louder than before. I race out of the forest and onto the beach. I turn around and find the source of the horn.

* * *

"So, your Majesty, what is the plan now?"

"The plan is already being carried out right now."

"The capture plan?"

"Yes, we will attack those creatures and take them to the castle."

"And that will lure the wretched plumber to you, correct?"

"You're not as dumb as you sometimes seem, Kamek."

"Thank you, Lord Bowser."

* * *

There's a giant mob in front of me.

A GIANT MOB.

If I was to be bombarded by several people, I'd want it to be those who missed me. It would be of those who I missed back home after being trapped on this island. We'd all be crying and joyous after our one-day separation, and everything will be alright.

But that can't happen, can it?

Of course, knowing me, it's gotta be the complete opposite. I've had my doubts about my luck, but I never thought it was that bad.

My bad luck was thrown into my face when I saw the giant group of koopas, goombas, and hammer brothers charging at me.

At me.

I just stared at them, shocked. I'm not being searched for. No one is looking for me. The only things that are remotely close to looking for me are the mob in front of me and Tokipal's tribe.

Wait, Tokipal's tribe. These people probably don't know about me, so they must be charging for the tribe!

In a normal situation, I wouldn't care. I'd be safe at home, resting in bed while drinking some iced tea. I wouldn't know about these creatures, and would just be happy-go-lucky Lawrence.

But this isn't a normal situation.

Turning back, I make a run for the village.

Why didn't I listen to Tokipal? Surely he couldn't hate civilization if he uses some of their technology. It wouldn't make sense. He seemed really angry, too, so this group must have messed with his tribe really badly.

I hear the horn again, now knowing it did not belong to a ship. Now that I hear it again, it sounded more like a foghorn, and not that of a craft. In fact, it wasn't even close. I guess the spur of the moment made me a little crazy.

God, Lawrence, you're so stupid.

I see several colorful shapes in front of me. One is red, while others are blue, white, brown, pink, purple, yellow, and several other colors.

I made it to the village. I'm not dead. Yet.

"Lawrence!" exclaims the chief, running up to me. "Oh, thank the gods you're alright."

Aquarius steps up to me, hands clenched into fists. "What were you thinking? Didn't you recognize the Koopa horn? You've probably lured them to this very spot!"

"How can I be sure that you didn't do this on purpose?" Twilight snaps, making my head jerk up to see him. "How can I be sure that you're not part of the Koopa Clan after this?"

Holy crap, everyone's right. I probably made them all hate me. I've led them into danger, and they probably don't trust me. Now they won't even help me get home; I'm gonna have to search here until I either die or find another way.

Tokipal walks to Twilight. "Now, now, Twilight. Let's not jump to conclusions. I'm sure Lawrence was just ambitious about this, being here for the first time. Am I correct?"

"Y…yeah," I stutter, realizing that I'm sobbing.

"Don't worry, we're not angry," the red yoshi tells me. I would believe it, but there's something about his voice now that seems different. It seems… a little more cautious.

He's lying.

"We know that you didn't mean to do this," Crystal says. "Were you hoping they were your family?"

I nodded, not being able to speak.

Sunny soon joined the conversation. "So, what do we do now? I just hope our location hasn't been exposed."

"It probably has," Twilight responds with a sigh. "We're going to have to leave the village and retreat to the mountains." He shoots me a glare, and I look away.

"The mountains?" asks Aquarius. "But Twilight, none of us have traveled there before! How will we know where to go?"

"Don't worry," reassures Tokipal. "I've made a few pilgrimages there. There's a warp pipe at the top, leading elsewhere. We can travel there to stall the Koopa Clan."

I clear my throat, realizing I now have to ability to speak again. "Where are the mountains? Are they far?"

It's Cami's turn to suddenly join our meeting. "The mountains are in the very center of the island. As for length, I'm not really sure."

Our chief turns to face me. "They're not too far. If we travel six hours a day, we should be there in about a quarter-moon cycle. That's one week, Lawrence."

"One week?!" I exclaim, eyes widening. "That's so long! Isn't there any way to escape the Koopa Clan without having to travel to the warp pipe?"

"You shouldn't be complaining," Twilight states. "If you hadn't run off, we wouldn't be in this situation at all!"

"Twilight!" Crystal snaps. "There's no use in blaming others. We need to make haste and start our travel."

I wish I could tell Crystal to shut up. As much as I hate Twilight, he's always right. This is all my fault. I caused all of this. I shouldn't have stormed off to the shore in ignorance. I shouldn't have gotten on this island. I shouldn't have gotten mad at the Brawl match and got on the deck of the ship in rough weather. I should have just stayed with my friends and I wouldn't be in this predicament.

But it's too late to change that now, huh?

"I agree with Crystal," says Sunny. "They're probably coming soon, and if we don't leave now, we could get hurt."

Cami adds, "Yeah, there isn't any other way. Wherever that pipe leads, it's probably safer than here."

"Alright," Tokipal nods. "In that case, we need to alert all of the villagers. Many of us are here already, so there must only be a few still in the huts. Lawrence, Rosa, go get the rest of the villagers."

Rosa responds with, "Yes, chief!" while I just nod. At least I can be helpful now.

The two of us run to the huts. As Rosa goes into each hut, alerting any possible yoshies, I stay outside and yell, "The Koopa Clan is coming! We need to retreat!"  
It was actually quite easy. After a minute, we were able to gather the remaining five yoshies that were still in the huts. We returned back to the group only to hear a horn in the not-so-far-off distance.

"They're close," Tokipal announces. "We have no time to make roll call now. We must travel now."

There is a murmur of agreement amongst the yoshies, and soon we start to march towards the forked path—this time heading for the left path.

Within a few minutes of our travel, I spot a strange red creature with a white face.

A shy guy.

I try to walk up to it and inspect it closer, but it only smashes into me before retreating. I get knocked down by the blow. I try to shake of any dirt (and snickers from yoshies) before I continue walking with the others.

I better not screw this up.

* * *

"Ack, my feet hurt."

"You're not used to traveling?"

"No. Back home, I didn't have to walk very far. I miss that."

"That's right, you're from the main civilization, right?"

"Yep. Usually I traveled by car."

"Car?"

"Well, Aquarius, it's basically another way of travel. You don't need to move your feet much."

"Wow, that's cool!"

"Yeah…"

* * *

"Sunny, did you usually travel much?"

"Well, not really. Besides the occasional foraging and walks to the lake, there hasn't been much to walk for."

"Oh, I see. So are you tired like me?"

"Not really. I kinda expected this to happen some day. With the Koopa Clan getting more and more dangerous, it was only a matter of time before we had to retreat."

"Do you know where that pipe leads?"

"No, only the chief does. He's the only one that's been relatively close to it. I'm not sure if he's actually gone inside it, though."

"Alright."

* * *

"Twilight?"

"What do you want, human?"

"Gee, calling me by my species. Way to be… err, species-ist."

"That's not even a word."

"Shut up."

"Hmph."  
"Hey, I was just wondering, why do you have to be so mean to me?"

"You put the entire tribe in danger. Is that a valid reason?"

"No, I mean before that. Even when you woke me up on the beach, you seemed a little… hostile."

"I wasn't fond of you. It seemed a little suspicious to see you on the beach, away from the village."

"I guess me running off earlier also made things worse, huh?"

"You're not as dumb as I thought."

"Gee, thanks."

* * *

We have been marching for a long time now. I'm not sure exactly how long, because I can't tell the time just by looking at the sun. I do, however, know that it's getting late. We left the village when the sun was high up in the sky, almost at the very center of it. Now, it is retreating behind the trees, leaving a tint of a brilliant orange that slowly grows darker.

In other words, we left at the afternoon, and now the sun's setting.

"It's getting late," I say, trying to spark up conversation. "Shouldn't we stop by now? It would be hard to travel at night."

"Yes," replies Crystal. "The chief is trying to find shelter for the night."

YES REST THAT I SO NEEEEEEED.

"It's about time," Rosa chirps. "My legs are about to collapse!"

"Rosa," Purpelie snaps, silencing her daughter. "You're lucky your legs are still there. Who knows what could have happened to us if we hadn't escaped our village?"

"I heard," Cami starts, "that the Koopa Clan has a torture area in their castle. Apparently whoever has been taken there has never been spotted again."

"You're… not… helping!" Rosa screams, trying to block out anything her friend told her.

"Don't worry," the green yoshi says. "That's only a rumor. I doubt it's true. Even Bowser wouldn't torture people. He would just make them serve in his army, or something."

Bowser.

Oh crap, BOWSER.

This world… it's way too real. There is no denying it now; I'm in Mario's world. There are koopas, goombas, yoshies… And now, I know that there's Bowser.

Tokipal did tell me about Mario and Luigi, so they must exist. It's a matter of where they are. If Yoshi's Island is on Earth, then the Mushroom Kingdom is bound to, too! But then that means that Bowser's Kingdom, or whatever its real name is, exists here, too. Couldn't that mean that Bowser could attack any part of Earth at any time? If he does exist, then why hasn't he already attacked? It could just be that they haven't found out about the main seven continents, or they don't feel like attacking us. There are so many possibilities, I'm not sure if—

"Chief! Did you find shelter?"

"Yes, there's a cave not too far from here."

Eh, I'll think about all this tomorrow.

* * *

So yeah, that's the chapter.

Yes, Lawrence will be involved in more than just having to deal with the yoshies. He will be involved with many more conflicts.

I also need to remember to introduce the rest of the yoshies sometime. I feel like only knowing Tokipal, Crystal, Twilight, Aquarius, Rosa, Odin, Purpelie, Sunny, and Cami won't cut it. Of course, that's already a big cast, so maybe the others will be just there. They don't deserve love. =P

A note to reviewers: Thank you so much! It's cool to hear how much you enjoy my story. I'm glad I didn't get any flames yet, too. It gives a nice feeling, especially since this is my first fic on the site. Remember, I accept anonymous requests! It would be a lot easier if you guys signed up though, especially if you have questions. If you have a question, make sure to leave some means of contact there! I have YouTube, email, and FanFiction. Leave me one of those three and I'll be sure to reply.

So yeah, review, critique, and share!


	8. Lessons

Ahh, kinda late update. Fail. Writer's block + Busy Week(end) = No good for me. XD

So yeah, this chapter is a good 2,200+ words. Yay.

This chapter tries to focus more into the personalities of the yoshies. So far they've seemed the same, save for Rosa and Twilight. I'm trying to make everyone unique. Hopefully you can start to see their different personalities in this chapter. Tell me how you think I did!

This chapter also has Lawrence learn some lessons. Until now, he's never really thought of the differences between the games and this real island. Some are humorous, while others are very serious.

But of course, this chapter ends on a happy ending. Sort of. More like humorous ending. (A.K.A. It's fun to torture all of them! =D)

Yay, 20 reviews! This is awesome, considering this is only my first fic. I wonder how many reviews by the time I (maybe) finish the fic.

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi or any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

**

* * *

Chapter 8- Lessons**

"Wake up, Lawrence! We need to leave soon!"

Ah, the joys of being woken up by a pink yoshi setting on your belly. Wonderful.

"Rosa," I grumbled, closing my eyes again. "Please get off of me."

"But Lawrence," she started, "We're all gonna leave soon. We have to keep moving if we don't want the Koopa Clan catching us. I'm not getting off of you until you get up."

I thought about it. Opening my eyes to face her, I challenged, "How am I supposed to get up if you're sitting on me?"

"Oh, whoops."

The creature slipped off of me, now enabling me to sit up. I had lots of trouble sleeping, considering the whole "This is all your fault wahhhh" thing going around the tribe.

I stood up to find Crystal walking towards me. "You're finally awake. You know, you were the last person to wake up. We had breakfast without you."

Rosa perked up after being deprived of her seat (a.k.a. me). "Yeah! It was really good, too. There were grapes, pineapples, oranges—"

"What?" I cried, involuntarily shooting up. "But I need breakfast! Isn't it, like, the most important meal?"

The white yoshi chuckled. "The leftovers are with Twilight. You can ask him for some food. He's outside packing."

"Oh, great," I said, my voice dripping with ever-so-subtle sarcasm. "He hates me. There's no way he's giving me food."

"He doesn't hate you," Rosa reassures. "Why would anyone hate you?"

"Gee, I don't know, Rosa. Maybe it's because I led the Koopa Clan straight to us?"

Crystal interjected, "But you didn't do it on purpose, did you?"

"No," I shook my head.

"See?" Rosa said, a smile on her face. "You're not evil. You didn't do it on purpose. Twilight's just quiet with everybody. He doesn't hate you."

I would have replied, but said dark blue yoshi walked into the cave.

"Hmph, you're finally awake." Twilight dug into his bag, pulling out a banana. "Eat this. It will give you enough energy until lunch."

I grabbed the banana from his hands gratefully. "Thanks."

As we walked out, Rosa gave me her trademark "I told you so" look.

"S'ry I d'n't be'eve oo," I mumbed, my mouth full of fruit.

Apparently, she still understood. "It's alright. You still don't know him well, anyway. I'm sure he'll get used to you eventually. You might even be his friend."

Oh god, I just got a mental image of Twilight running up to me and saying, "Hey, pal! Want a banana?" Argh, stupid brain.

Outside the cave, the sky was a perfect blue, with a few clouds hovering over the sky. The sun high above shown brightly, making the already hot forest even hotter. Around us, dew drops slowly dripped off the tropical tree leaves, bringing with it a slow "drip, drop" sound effect.

It's nice to be able to take in your surroundings like this, especially when you've just woken up. It feels… refreshing. I gotta admit, some of the envoirnment was able to calm me down when I first arrived on the island. It's really soothing. I wish America was more like this. In some places, though. I'd hate to have the route to school be a shy-guy infested rainforest. That would suck.

If this area really were based on the games, which I still highly doubt, I'd say this was around the area of that monkey world. Oh, god, I hated the world. Stupid monkeys would never stop spitting seeds at me. And all of the obsticles, and… ugh, I just hate it. Whatever. However, I know this area isn't completely based off of the game because of one detail.

The clouds don't smile back at you. Seriously, that would be really scary in real life. Having white puffy clouds always staring at you from above, as if to say, "Hello there! Would you like to play?" would be very scarring for the soul. I'd have nightmares for the rest of my life.

Right, rambling again. I have to stop this.

"Hey, you're awake!" Cami greeted, coming out of the trees. Seriously, I did not see her coming. At all. It may have just been the babbling, but she honestly fit in with the rainforest setting. I guess her name makes sense.

"Yep, I am," I replied casually. "I slept like a rock. Y'know, after being able to adjust to the many rocks around me. Seriously, I'm used to sleeping on a bed, not a cave floor."

Purpelie sighed. "You need to get used to it. Though we may not have had the most luxurious bedding either, we're not used to it, ourselves." She looked up to the sky. "Curse that Koopa Clan."

"I agree," Aquarius nodded as Twilight helped pack his things. "I don't see what the Koopa Clan has against us. We're just normal yoshies. I don't get why they want us."

Tokipal came out of the cave behind us. Wait, he was there? "We need not to worry ourselves now. I am finished praying; we should continue our trip to the warp pipe."

"Sure thing," replied Sunny, who slung his own bag over his shoulder. "It's still pretty early. We should make good progress today."

Without a another word, we started walking forward in a group. I decided to take one last look behind me. It didn't seem like there was anything of interest; there was just the cave opening, the trees, and the pathway in the opposite direction. However, it was when I looked up that I noticed something peculiar.

"G… guys," I motioned towards the sky, in the direction which we left the village. "Is… is that smoke?"

I've obviously gained the attention of the whole tribe, seeing as they were now looking in the direction of the grey-stained patch of sky.

"You're right," Cami stated. "That's… smoke. They're burning our village!"

Suddenly, the green yoshi started to cry. A second later, Odin came to her side, trying to comfort her. "There, there, Cami. I know how strongly you feel about the village. There's nothing we can do now. We simply must walk."

"Indeed," Tokipal agreed, looking as if he was containing much more anger than he should have. "There is no use in crying. We must be optimistic. The gods will surely grant us their strength, and we will—"

"Did the gods protect the village?" the sobbing yoshi challenged. "Did they stop the Koopa Clan from coming to us?" She stared at the chief, as if expecting an answer.

I might as well help. After all, I have to redeem myself. I did start this. "Cami, listen to the chief. Maybe the gods meant for this to happen. Maybe they want to make sure that we do make it to the warp pipe, wherever it leads. It could be much safer there."

The feather-headed yoshi stared at me, slightly shocked. "Do you share our same religion? Are you a follower of the Yoshian faith?"

"No," I stated flatly. "But that doesn't mean I can't help. I know how it feels to be separated from your home… kinda. I just don't like to see other people hurt."

Cami looked up at me, tears still dripping from her sapphire eyes. "T… Thank you, Lawrence." She got up, head down. "Bowser… One day I will destroy you for what you've done to me."

With that, she left.

"Hey," I started, facing Odin. "Does she hold a grudge against the Koopa Clan or something?"

Odin chuckled, but it wasn't a laugh of joy. "Don't we all? But yes, she's had it a lot worse than most of us. Her family was on the run from them for quite a while. She was born while they were fleeing from Bowser's troops. Eventually, when Cami was just a toddler, they… well—"

"I understand," I interjected, guessing what happened next. "Then she came to the village?"

"Yes," replied the brown yoshi. "She looked so desperate and beaten. She came right to me, actually. Ever since then, she's looked at me like a father." Despite the situation, he smiled. "Cami's grown a lot since then. She's almost a whole new person."

I couldn't help but walk away. This isn't the yoshi world that I was used to. In the video games, the yoshies were always happy. They were able to draw out any problems that faced them with a smile on their face. Bowser wasn't truly evil, at least not to this extent. Whatever he did always just had to do with kidnapping the princess. He never really hurt anyone to an extreme extent. They would just be frozen or turned into bricks. Eventually, everything was back to normal.

But this isn't the video game world I was accustomed to hearing. Everything is so much more realistic. Bowser wouldn't stop at merely hurting everyone, no; he goes the full extent and downright kills them. The yoshies don't have happy-go-lucky lives all the time. They can be distraught, too. The games were watered down as to not make things as realistic as they would be.

This is more real than it should be.

* * *

Okay, seriously, no. God, NO.

We've been traveling for a few days now. For the most part, it's been the same thing. Walk, rest, eat, walk. Not in that order, necessarily, but still, it's been relatively normal. On the sixth day, though, we've made great progress without anything hindering us. Until now, I forgot about anything from the games.

I don't care if it's the video games based off this world, or the other way around. All I know is that I hated these things in Yoshi's Island.

STUPID. FREAKING. MONKEYS.

That's right, it's the innocent looking monkeys that always had watermelons in the jungle. They're everywhere! Almost every tree had a monkey perched atop it, each wielding a certain green fruit.

"Okay, I hate these things," I announced. "They shoot watermelon seeds at you. Tiny, fast, watermelon seeds. They're bound to hurt."

"Let's just make sure we don't bother them," advised Tokipal. "Hopefully if they see we don't mean to harm them, they won't harm us."

Twilight sighed. "Are you serious? These creatures are idiotic. I say we swallow them."

Before anyone could protest, the navy creature ran towards a monkey. In a second, he stuck out his long tongue. Wow, I forgot about that, too. I'm lame.

Alright, so far, it's cool. It's still kinda weird to see a tongue a yard long. It juggles between, "That's weird," and, "OH MY GOD THAT'S FREAKING ME OUT!"

A split second later, the monkey Twilight aimed for squeaked. It was stuck to Twilight's sticky tongue. Okay, scary.

The next second, Twilight's tongue retracted back into his mouth, taking the poor creature with it. ERM.

The yoshi swallowed. I watched in horror as a rather large lump flowed down Twilight's belly. Okay, CREEPY.

Within a few seconds, a navy-spotted egg came out the other end. Twilight merely picked it up and threw it at another monkey, rendering him unconscious. The egg fell to the ground, shattering with a loud "crack!"

That egg… it contained a monkey. That egg held what was left of an innocent creature's life. In mere seconds, it shattered to hundreds of pieces, never to be used again.

Why does this world have to be so real? Now that I am a witness of this in real life, a yoshi's ability to produce eggs from whatever it swallows is truly appalling. They use innocent lives as ammo for their own use; ammo that gets used in mere seconds. In the games they can carry six eggs at a time. They carry six lives with them all the time… I couldn't live with that. I feel pity for whatever creatures the yoshies must swallow in order to attack others. It just seems so wrong…

"Lawrence!" Sunny shouts, snapping me back into reality. "We have to go, now! The monkeys are preparing to shoot—OW!"

I see a black pellet ricochet off of the yellow yoshi's head. Seriously, ouch. I look around me and see all of the monkeys chewing on their watermelons. Wow… the monkeys are simply using the watermelon as their ammo… ammo that gets used in—

Okay, shut up, Lawrence. Now is not the time to rant about the misfortune of fruits.

"'Kay, Let's go!" I command, starting off in the direction of the rest of the group.

Sunny followed after me, rubbing his head with his hand. "Ah, you're lucky you didn't get hit with the seeds."

I turned backwards to face him. "Yeah, well, if you're as lucky as me, you're not gonna get hit by some—OH GOD THAT HURT!"

You know B.B. Guns? Imagine the pain of being shot in the face with that. Hurts, doesn't it? Now double the pain. In other words…

"Ow! Not again!"

"Haha, Sunny. See? No one is luckier than—GOD STOP IT!"

And so, I learned two things that day. Lesson one: video games may be severely watered down from what they'd be like in real life. Lesson two: watermelon-shooting monkeys suck. And hurt. I don't pity them anymore.

* * *

Yep. Like I said, tell me how I did with seperating the characters more. I'm trying to work on that.

Be sure to share this with your friends, too! Motivation is win. You get a cookie if you bring me motivation. Cookies are win.

So yeah. Review, critique, share!


	9. Tokipal

I fail. I fail so badly.

Blame my school. Blame my life. Blame writer's block. Blame anything and everything. Or something.

But seriously, I definately lived my promise about updating every one and a half weeks. Note my sarcasm. But seriously, my teachers thought it would be funny to bombarde us with homework in the last few weeks of school. But finally, I'm done with school. About time, too.

So yeah, this chapter is mainly filler stuff until three-fourths into it. It then focuses then on a few important issues and plot twists. Hopefully the 3,000+ words will make up for the super long wait. It's the longest chapter to date. Horray?

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi or any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

**

* * *

Chapter 9 – Tokipal**

"Why did you stop there? There were monkeys everywhere, and the chief and the others already left!"

"Shut up."

Apparently, Sunny doesn't like getting hurt, especially if it's by watermelon seeds shot out of a monkey's mouth. Not fun. But still, he's been going on about it for the past two days. If there was someone who I wished would stop talking, it'd be… wait, no, that'd be Rosa. Sunny earns second place. He's like a kiss-up, and seems kinda sheltered. I mean, being shot in the face by fruit seeds is perfectly normal.

Oh wait.

Anyway, we are now on our seventh day of the journey. Tokipal did say the journey would last a week, right? In all honesty, I'm sort of nervous about entering the warp pipe. Sure, this is Mario world, and everything should work like the games. In the past days, there haven't any foghorns or smoke either, but I can't help but have this feeling of anxiety. Tokipal hasn't even told us where it leads.

I can't ask him, though. I know everyone isn't fond of me, so I don't want to risk anything. Maybe he doesn't want us to worry? All of the yoshies trust him, and I trust him, too.

Okay, boredom time.

"See, there you go again, Lawrence." I snap back to reality to find Sunny snapping at me yet again. "You keep blanking out."

I sigh, making the tone of my voice sarcastic. "Well, sorry. I'm still kinda freaked out about everything. Sorry for being ticked at you."

The yellow yoshi just sighs in frustration, and moves at a faster pace to catch up to Tokipal. He was interested in meeting a human when I first arrived. I guess he thinks differently now.

Every day since the monkey incident has been pretty uneventful. It's the same thing over and over again. Sunny yells at me for being distracted, Rosa annoys me, Cami has angst time, and Purpelie is her motherly self. Twilight is quiet, Aquarius talks to everyone, Tokipal comforts everyone, and Sunny goes around while shouting, "Let's go, everybody; don't fall behind the chief!" Teacher's pet.

So, day and night, sunrise and sunset, I've been waiting for something to pass the time. Who knew that fleeing from a group of evil creatures in a seemingly fictional world would be so boring?

"I'm bored," Rosa exclaims to no one in particular.

I chuckle a slight amount. "Glad to know I'm not the only one."

Purpelie slows her pace to converse with us. "The chief has been talking for quite a bit about stopping by a lake so we can swim. The Koopa Clan has most likely used our village as a base. Haven't you noticed that there was no more smoke or noises of the vermin?"

Hmm… vermin. Interesting nickname. "You have a point," I reply. "We could use some time just to relax. At least, I would."

Rosa didn't hesitate to agree. "As long as it relieves my boredom, I'm good. Mom, can you ask everyone else?"

"Ask everyone else what?" a new voice queried. It found the source of the voice to be Aquarius.

"The chief's wondering if we should swim in a lake," I inform him. "Personally, I'd like that. We need some time to unwind and relax. Running from an evil group of turtles and mushrooms can be tiring, no?"

The sky-blue yoshi stares at my odd description of the Koopa Clan. Nevertheless, he replies, "I agree. I enjoy swimming, and being in a lake with my friends will relieve some stress."

Purpelie nods. "I'll let the chief know." She headed towards the feather-headed yoshi.

As Rosa's mother told Tokipal, Aquarius decided to get the opinions of others. "Hey, Twilight!"

Meanwhile, a certain pink yoshi decided to get the opinions of her own friend. "Cami!"

The navy creature made his way towards us. "Hmm?" he muttered, his face unchanging from the usual scowl.

"Hey, Twilight," his brother started, "we're thinking about stopping by the lake for a small swim. To relax and relieve stress, I mean."

As the two brothers conversed, Cami strolled over to her friend. "Yes?" she asked.

"We're thinking about going in the lake," Rosa stated. "The chief thinks it's time for us to take a break and just relax. You in?"

"I'm… not sure," the green yoshi replied, thoughtful in her decision. "Couldn't the Koopa Clan invade us while we're there?"

I decide to add to this conversation. "Well, there hasn't been any smoke or horns in the past couple of days. Purpelie said that they might have used to village as a base or something."

"Of course," Cami says, visibly shaking. Crap, I forgot about Odin telling me of her past. Hopefully she doesn't go berserk on me. "I still don't think it's a good idea, though. They could simply be tricking us."

Twilight stepped up. "I agree with Cami. How do we know that they're not secretly following us? They did manage to find our location once." He glared at me. No matter who he looks at, he has the power to make their soul shake. Whatever that means. "Who's to say they haven't done it again?"

"Alright," started Rosa, "so it's… three yeses, and two nos. Any other votes?"

Trying to support the decision, Aquarius added, "Isn't Purpelie going to swim, too?"

"She's neutral," Rosa replied. "If the majority of us want to swim, she'll swim."

Cami shook her head. "I'm still not sure if it's a good idea. The Koopa Clan could just be staying quiet, and sneak up on us."

"How about," I started, trying to find a solution. "How about those who wanna swim can swim, while those who don't can keep watch. That way, both sides are happy."

Twilight nodded. "That idea seems fair enough." Yay, he agrees with me! "I still don't think anyone should swim, though. We need to get to the warp pipe as quick as we can." Wah, never mind about what I said about him agreeing with me.

Purpelie came walking up to us. "Most of the others want to swim. So, we're all going swimming."

"No, we're not, mom," Rosa interjected. "We came up with a new plan. Those who want to swim will swim; those who don't can keep watch."

Aquarius jumped up. "Well, since everything's settled, I'm going for a swim!" Almost immediately, he rushed towards Tokipal, who was near a clearing in the trees.

I followed the sky-blue yoshi, though at a much more leisurely pace. I noticed Tokipal smiling at me as I entered the clearing. At least I'm back on his good side. It wouldn't be good to be on the bad side of the chief, would it? I mean, he's a really nice guy… yoshi. Hopefully he knows that I didn't mean to lure the clan to the village. It was kinda obvious he also held a grudge against the Koopa Clan. No one is perfect, right?

Ahh stupid rambling.

I heard the sounds of splashing and conversing to my right. The lake was next to us. I turned and saw it, and my jaw dropped immediately in awe. First things first: the lake was huge. It had to be several yards wide—at least twenty yards. Secondly, it was really clean. It's not like the super polluted bodies of water on Earth. This lake literally sparkled in several places. I mean, sure, the bright sun helped, but geez, it takes a lot for a lake to shine and almost burn your eyes. Okay, I lied about the last part, but you get the idea.

"C'mon in, Lawrence!" called Aquarius, who was already in the water.

"Yeah," Sunny added. "The water's perfect!"

I was about to jump in when I realized something. These are my only clothes. If I get them wet, there's nothing else. I guess I'm swimming naked?

Oh god, stupid maturing mind. These are yoshies. First of all, they have absolutely no clothing besides their necklaces (and, in Tokipal's case, a feather). Secondly, we're entirely different species. There shouldn't be anything to worry about.

Becoming less tense, I proceeded to remove my shirt.

"Wow!" Rosa exclaimed from the lake. "So that's what a human looks like without clothing!"

I immediately froze. Oh god, this is not going to go well. Already Rosa is trying to hit on me.

OH MY GOD IMAGES IMAGES IMAGES.

"Hmm," I hear Sunny say to Rosa. "How interesting."

Okay, so apparently I was wrong. Sunny is interested in humans, and apparently doesn't care about their gender.

"Erm," I call out as I put my clothes back on. "Suddenly I don't feel like swimming. I'm going to keep watch with Cami and Twilight."

Purpelie questioned, "Why? You said you wanted to go swimming. What's the matter?"

Okay, gotta think of a cover story. "I don't know, I just suddenly don't feel like swimming." Before they can question further, I immediately yell out a, "'Kay bye," before running off.

After a good five seconds of running, I make it back to the two lookout yoshies.

"Lawrence?" Cami asks, looking at me. "How come you're not swimming?"

I waved at the two. "Just didn't work out. How's lookout going?"

Twilight turns to me. "We haven't seen anyone yet. I still have this feeling that someone's coming, though. I don't know why."

"You always do, don't you?" I remark, resisting the urge to laugh. "You did when the Koopa Clan came, and you probably did when I came."

"Apparently," Cami realizes, playfully shoving Twilight for reasons I would never know. "I bet you have psychic vision or something."

Despite the dangerous navy yoshi next to me, I can't help but say, "More like psycho vision."

Cami bursts into laughter. Hmm, glad to know she still likes me. I made her go into angst mode twice already. I'm making a comeback, I guess.

Twilight, however, isn't amused. "I am not psychic, nor psycho. If you wish to keep your short tongue in that small mouth of yours, I suggest you stay quiet, Lawrence."

Once again, the female yoshi goes into fits of giggles. Eh, it's a fair tradeoff. I make fun of his oh-so-low patience, he makes fun of my non-yoshi-like tongue. Fair enough.

"So," I start, trying to make conversation. "Has this happened before?"

"No," Cami immediately replies. "The Koopa Clan has kidnapped some of the yoshies before, but they haven't done anything this extreme before."

Twilight continues, "I'm not sure why they would attack us now, of all times."

I can't help but think it's because of me. I mean, this hasn't happened before, has it? Why would the Koopa Clan suddenly launch a large attack on the tribe when I arrive? Bowser's so different from the games in this world… the real world… whatever it is. Maybe they're after humans or something. After all, Bowser kidnaps Peach, a human, either to confess his love or something or to use as bait to get Mario, another human. It's just too much to be a coincidence. It's either that, or I'm over thinking things.

* * *

"Are you sure you can see them in view?"

"Yes, there's right there. See? Those three right there."

"You're right. Two yoshies, one human. That has to be Tokipal's tribe."

"All right, troops. Let's go! Sound the horn!"

* * *

I hear a horn.

Oh god, are you serious?

No… please, no.

"I knew it!" Twilight exclaims. "Lawrence, Cami, tell everyone else. We need to get to the warp pipe now!"

I can hardly think before Cami runs off in the direction of the pool, my hand in hers. The tribe is obviously important to her. After all, the tribe took her in when she was a child. They saved her life.

Within seconds, we're at the lake. The horn emits its horrible noise once again, louder than the last time.

"No," Tokipal says to himself. "The Koopa Clan? Here? Now?"

"Yes," Cami replies. "We need to get out of here now. We need to get to the warp pipe quickly!"

Immediately, we scramble to different sides of the lake, yelling, "Get out of the lake! The Koopa Clan is here!" Luckily, the yoshies are good at following directions. Within a minute, we're able to round up the panicked tribe. I hear several words from the chatter.

"—could they find us? We made—"

"—well hidden. You never know—"

"—important thing is to listen to the chief—"

"—once, you're right, Sunny. Usually—"

"QUIET!"

The sound of Twilight yelling is unmistakable. We all immediately freeze.

"Chief," he says, letting Tokipal speak.

"Tribe," the feather-headed announces, "We need to make haste. The warp pipe lies just ahead on the mountain. Let's go!"

The group of creatures springs to life as they follow their chief's command. Within seconds, the organized tribe turns into a frenzy. They begin to run like crazy, taking me with them. The Koopa Clan's horn sounds behind us, signaling us to run faster than our limit. Now would be a good time to be in Sonic's world, I guess.

Okay, focus.

We run frantically, getting faster every time the foghorn sounds. I can't even make out what the numerous yoshies are saying. The only thing running through my mind is to RUN. Literally, just run.

"Lawrence! Twilight! Come here!"

I find the source of the voice to be none other than Tokipal. He looks so frightened. He may be a chief, but this hasn't happened before. Unlike previous times, he is clueless as to what to do.

I try to focus at the task: getting to Tokipal. I reach him and see Twilight running next to me. Both of us a breathing heavily. For the first time, I also see the yoshi genuinely scared. It's hard to comprehend that Twilight, the yoshi that seems emotionless and cold the majority of the time, is visibly scared.

"Listen, you two. I will be splitting up with the tribe. Assuming the Clan is targeting me, they won't attack you. The rest of you will be safe."

My eyes widen. "Y… You can't be serious. You're the tribe leader!"

"No," the red yoshi shakes his head. I swear, my mind is slowly going "KABOOM" right now due to my inability to understand this situation. "I will be appointing a new chief right now. I will admit, it's a hasty decision, but I believe this yoshi is well qualified."

"What are you talking about?" asks Twilight. "You can't appoint a new leader without the proper ceremony."

"Listen to me!" For once, Tokipal seems genuinely impatient. It must be the situation. "Twilight, you are the new tribe leader."

YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS.

"What…" the now shocked yoshi starts. "What are you—"

He is stopped when the former chief hands his feather and necklace to the navy yoshi. "This is for the better of the tribe. I do not mind sacrificing myself if it means I can save the lives of my tribe."

Twilight slowly puts on the chief attire, still in awe. He admires the feeling of the shell necklace mixing in with his own star necklace. "I don't understand—"

"You are a great commander," Tokipal answers his unasked question. "You perform well under pressure. You have skills which I wish I myself had. Congratulations, Twilight."

I stand—run, rather—in awe at the unfolding scene in front of me. Tokipal has a point; Twilight does well under pressure. He may be hot headed, but he does make the right decisions if needed.

"Relay the message to the other yoshies," the red yoshi commands. "We need them to know about the switch. Tell them I will be disbanding from our tribe for the time being."

"But wait!" interjects Twilight. "What if you survive? You talk as if you are dying. What if the Clan spares you?"

Tokipal shakes his head again. "It is my decision if you stay chief or not. I will choose then."

Twilight simply nods. He turns around, attempting to relay the important message to the tribe.

"Lawrence," Tokipal turns towards me. "You come from the main civilization, correct?'

I nod, still dumbstruck.

"The warp pipe on the mountain leads to the main civilization. I didn't want you to panic if you found out too early."

YOU. CANNOT. BE. SERIOUS.

"You mean…" I begin, "The whole time I was here, I could have gotten back home by hiking up there?"

Tokipal hesitates before answering. "Yes."

Do not hurt the former chief. Doing so would be very bad. It could also result in being hated more by Twilight. That would be dangerous.

Eh, let's just explode. I've had so much to think about on this experience. I need to let out my anger. "I COULD BE HOME RIGHT NOW! BUT NO, YOU DECIDE TO KEEP MY ONLY WAY HOME A SECRET!"

The yoshi closes his eyes before realizing that we have to run. Yeah, real smart chief. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you would react."

I just sigh. I can't handle this anymore. It's too much to take in. I've been through so much crap in the course of a week. "Just go away. Save us if you care about us."

I don't care about the worried face of the former chief. He delayed my ticket to home. He better make sure the Koopa Clan doesn't follow us. I don't want my home being infiltrated by koopas, goombas and the like.

I hear several shouts of, "He's leaving?" and "You're the new chief?" and "How can he do that to us?"

Yeah, you were a great chief, Tokipal. Keeping my home away from me, choosing Twilight as the next leader, pretty much possibly leading the Koopa Clan to the main civilization… yeah, you were great.

I notice that the soil that used to be under my feet slowly became rock. We were now on the mountain. I haven't heard the horn in a while. I turn around.

Tokipal is gone.  


* * *

There are probably loads of mistakes and stuff in this chapter. But you know what? I don't care. I'm just glad I finally got this chapter over with. Writer's block sucks, school sucks, I just hope this chapter makes up for the wait. And hopefully I can live up to my promise of updating every one and a half weeks. It's summer, after all.

Review, critique, share.


	10. Realization

I have good news and bad news.

Let's start with the bad news. I'm still a fail at updating on time. It's been like what, two weeks? I've straying from my promise of once a week.

I'm also going to Paris on Wednesday! It's a good for me, but a bad for you since you don't get any updates. Hmm... I guess it's a good news bad bad news situation.

Anyway, good news: this chapter is 3,900+ words long! I guess it makes up for the long wait.

I have to admit, writer's block sucks. And when it's late and night and you're desperate to get a chapter done, things get a little offhand. One example is the whole "TWILIGHT YOU'RE THE NEW CHIEF" scenerio. That was never supposed to happen. Oh well, it shows my lack of planning! =P

This chapter will have mistakes and things that were never supposed to be there. I'm sure of it. Just letting you know.

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi or any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Realization**

"But how?" pondered Crystal, who was still confused about the situation. "He was a great chief! How could he leave us?"

Twilight shook his head. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure what to think anymore. He used himself as bait. We can't let his effort go to waste."

You're right, Twilight. Tokipal's use was to be bait. If we can't escape from the Koopa Clan now, he'd be even more useless than he already was.

Right, we're still running. News of Tokipal and Twilight quickly spread amongst the group. Several yoshies—namely Crystal—were blabbing about what a great chief Tokipal was. Liars. If he was able to keep the Koopa Clan from getting to the warp pipe, he'd only be a decent chief. It would somewhat make up for the crap that he put me through. I could have gone home from the very start, but NO, he had to keep it a secret. Now the whole tribe, and possibly the Koopa Clan, is coming home with me. Way to endanger my home, Tokipal!

"Lawrence," I hear Twilight—chief—call my name. "Should I tell them about where the pipe leads?"

I don't turn to look at the feather-headed yoshi. "Go ahead. We're headed there, anyway. They'll find out eventually."

He nods in agreement, hopefully understanding my anger. Or does he really? He wasn't there when I flipped out at Tokipal. Even so, he doesn't give a crap about my feelings. He hates me. I hate him. We're all big one big, happy family. Or something. I dunno; I've been slowly going insane since I arrived on this blasted island.

"The main civilization?!" I hear Rosa chirp. God, I hate her voice. "But isn't that where Lawrence lives? We'll be bringing him home!"

Yeah, along with everyone else here! Geez, you're an idiot.

"Tokipal has told me stories of them," Odin brings up. "Apparently, they're very civilized and willing to accept new members of the community.

"Oh, the joys of lies."

Everyone looks at me. Crap, did I say that out loud?

"Lies?" Sunny repeats. He looks at me intensely as if I were scum. "Tokipal was a great chief! He would never lie."

I laugh. "So you're saying that the yoshi who lied to me about not knowing how to get to my home was a great chief?"

"That's different!" Crystal barks, anger seemingly emitting from her. "It was for your own good! He was trying to protect you!"

"Protect me?" I ask. "So, he was protecting me from getting back home. If he wasn't 'protecting' me, I wouldn't have run off to the beach. I would have already been on my way to the warp pipe, and could go back home, and you guys would be safe." I don't care what I say anymore. "Yeah, he was the best chief."

A think I hit a nerve. That's what I'm guessing as I take the blunt force of Crystal jumping onto me. My thoughts go slightly fuzzy as I fall onto the hard rock. I see the white yoshi's large eyes glinting with hatred, and her teeth clenched with the same emotion. I blank out slightly as her fist makes a direct hit at me side, only to be brought back to consciousness.

"Get off of him!" Twilight yells, ripping Crystal from me. "Listen, I'm the chief, alright? We just need to make it to the warp pipe. The Koopa Clan is no longer following us." I look towards the back of the tribe. He's right; there's not a koopa in sight. "Just stay quiet and walk forward!"

He turns to me, helping me up. The navy creature says nothing as he starts to walk back to the front of the group. Once I start walking, head down, I see his feather lying on the ground. I pick it up. "Twilight, you dropped your fea—"

Wordlessly, Twilight takes it out of my hand. Hastily replacing it, he hurries back to the front of the tribe, leaving me in the back.

Great, I screwed up again.

* * *

"Twi—Chief."

"What do you want, Crystal?"

"I want to apologize for my previous behavior. I became too agitated after hearing what Lawrence said about Tokipal."

"Apology accepted."

"I wish that Lawrence would apologize, too. I understand that this is stressful, but he there was no need to criticize our former chief."

"Tokipal wasn't really Lawrence's chief."

"Hmm?"

"We are the chiefs of the Lindinian tribe. Lawrence is not of the Lindinian group. He doesn't even follow the Yoshian religion."

"Even so, he is under the watch of our tribe. We took him in."

"And he can disband from the group at any time. Now, do you wish to continue this argument or pay attention to our task?"

* * *

I'm just strolling along near the back of the group. Now I'm here of my own will, not because Twilight left me here. If I wanted to, I could run straight to the pipe, go home, and block the entrance to the pipe. That way, I will never see these yoshies ever again.

I mean, why should I care about them? This world shouldn't even exist! This place, as well as its inhabitants, has put me through more pain than I can handle. It's only been a week, too! Imagine what it would be like if I brought them to the main civilization. Earth is huge when it comes to discrimination, so what would happen if they saw another species? Total chaos would endure! They might as well just stay here. I'm not having my own world go into denial. It's too risky.

But of course, one's dreams can be different from reality.

First of all, we're close enough to the pipe that I wouldn't be able to block it off in time. Second, it just feels wrong. I mean, abandon a whole tribe, possibly species, just for my own selfish desires? I mean, I could hide them, right? They could just go to another island or something and recuperate. At least that island won't be filled with things from video games.

Wait… yoshies are from video games. Crap. I hate contradicting myself.

And wait, I just admitted that I care about these creatures. I'm gotten close to them. Why should I care about them? I became their friends.

Argh, I'm still contradicting myself. I think I'm losing my mind. Or my sanity. Yeah, probably both.

Hold on, I've never asked the yoshies if there's any way to get to America. For all I know, the "main civilization" could be Japan or something. It would make sense if Shigeru Miyamoto came here for new ideas for games and stuff. Or, the main civilization could be the Mushroom Kingdom or something. Lots of yoshies appear in the Mushroom Kingdom in the games, right? This pipe could be the way there or something.

Great, I'm throwing around ideas that sound like the plots of crappy fanfictions. Oops, my sanity went bye bye!

"Lawrence?"

Oh look, there's one of the creatures that I think I hate but actually care about since my mind is going completely wacko and bringing me to out-of-this-world conclusions that improbable in the first place because of the sheer inability to travel via objects that only plumbers should handle!

Wait, it's just Aquarius.

"Hey," I reply casually, trying to keep my mind off of the events taking place. All I want is a nice, off topic conversation.

"I still can't believe my brother is the new chief."

You suck.

"Uh, yeah," I tell the yoshi. "Neither can I."

"I mean," he begins, "Twilight was always so quiet and reserved. It just doesn't make sense for Tokipal to pick him as our new leader. Sure, Twilight may be a good leader, but he's so hot headed. One wrong move and—"

"Okay, next topic." Man, I really want to get off the events of today.

Aquarius nods. "What was that with you and Crystal earlier?"

You _really_ suck.

"Eh, nothing much," I lie.

Aquarius raises his… eyelids? I dunno, yoshies don't have eyebrows, so their eyelids take their place. "Nothing much? Crystal beat you to the ground!"

You really, really suck.

I try to laugh. I failed. "I guess it's what I get for bashing Tokipal."

"Bashing?"

Apparently, Aquarius doesn't understand American slang. "In other words, I told Crystal that Tokipal sucked as chief."

"What?!" he exclaims, eyes widening. "Tokipal was a great chief! How could you say that about him?"

Here we go again. Forget all about what I said about not putting my needs first. "He put me through so much pain. He _lied_ to me about not knowing how to get to my home. I could be home now, you guys wouldn't have to run, and everything would be fine if he told me how to get home."

The creature's eyes glisten with anger. Whoo, today's an angerfest against Lawrence! "You've been through a lot of pain? Me and Twilight had our parents killed by the Koopa Clan as kids! Tokipal took us in with loving arms and gave us a home. We were barely surviving, but he helped us go back to health. It's because of him that we are still alive today!" He turns away. "Yeah, you've been through a lot of pain."

Wow, I feel like an idiot. Way to go, self, you just proved that you are a complete jerk when put the smallest pain! "Is that why Twilight is so quiet?"

"Yes."

"Wait, then how come you're so energetic and stuff?"

He shook his head. "I just try not to think about it. I figure that if I stay happy, I won't have to think about all the bad things we went through. Instead, I focus on how lucky we were that Tokipal took us into the tribe." He places his hand on his necklace. "This necklace is the only thing left of my mother, and it's barely anything. She would teach us how to swim every day. After we practiced, we would go to the beach and collect shells."

I lowered my head. Oh, what a jerk I am. "Wow, you must have had some great memories."

"A lot," he explained, stopping a little. We quickly fell behind the rest of the group. "When I was two years old—Twilight was six—the Koopa Clan invaded our home." Tears formed on his eyes. "They took… my mother away. My father was taken away previously, so we were orphans."

"Oh my god…"

"We were left to wander the island. We were alone for at least a moon cycle." He took a deep breath. "It was torture. Food was decent; there were enough shyguys around. But we weren't used to the environment. We had wandered off too far from where we were familiar. There were even fuzzies. None of us had even encountered fuzzies."

"Don't they mess with your mind or something?"

"Yes, your mind becomes foggy, and you get dizzy. It feels awful. I accidentally ran into one as a child."

I can't help it. "Did the music become all messed up and all the colors become trippy?"

"What?" he asks, eyes showing confusion.

"Never mind. Go on."

Aquarius sighs. "After a while, the Koopa Clan came back. We had nowhere to escape, so Twilight suggested we go into the nearby lake. It was very large, and we could easily hide and travel in it. So we did." He closed his eyes, as if in deep remembrance. "We were able to get away from the Koopa Clan because our mother taught us how to swim. Without that, we may not be alive today. She was so much help to us, and she was just starting. It's hard to think that I could still have her today…"

Wow, I just _really_ proved what an idiot I was. "Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Having to lose someone so close to you at a young age must have been devastating."

"Twilight knew her longer, being older. He was more shaken by it than I was. That's why he's so quiet now; he still hasn't gotten over our mother's death."

I decide that this is an opportunity to get more information. "So I'm guessing your shell necklace was a way of remembering how much your mom helped you?"

"Yes."

"Then how come Twilight has a star necklace? And how come he would go out at night to play the flute?"

His eyes widen. "You know about that?"

I nod. "The night when I went off, I heard Twilight playing a flute before I fell asleep. He woke me up, and it was in his hand."

"Well, mother always tried to get him into music. She tried teaching him the flute, but he wasn't very into it. After she died, he started to play it."

"As a way to grant her wishes, I guess?"

"Possibly. As for the necklace, he always liked astronomy. He used to go out every night with mother and try to find all the constellations."

That grabs my attention. "I'm a fan of the stars, myself. How much has he seen? What planets? What stars?"

Aquarius sighs once again, but now it seems to be of annoyance. Maybe I'm dragging this too far. Oh well, I want my information. "I don't know much. He only took me once, a little before the koopas came. He only pointed out a few of the constellations. The only one I remember is the Golden Archer."

"Golden Archer?"

"Legend says that the Golden Archer used to roam the island, taking down foes with his mighty bow and arrow. It is also said that, when he settled down after many years, he began to write stories that confuse us even today."

"Heh, that's cool."

Let's wrap up today, shall we? Tokipal reveals where the pipe leads, Twilight becomes chief, Tokipal runs away, I get mauled by Crystal, I get ignored by the new chief, I learn about Aquarius' and Twilight's past, and I learn some Yoshian religion. Not a bad day, huh?

"The pipe should be coming up soon. We should arrive in, say, five minutes."

HOLY CRAP I MIGHT BE GOING HOME.

I'm just so emotionally exhausted right now. I've been through way more than I've used to today. I've experienced anger and pity in a way that I never had before. I'm beginning to think that the anger I had was unnecessary. It was probably all the stress I had on my shoulders; I had to release it somewhere, even if it were on a person.

Being in the back of the group, I look behind me. There's no one. Not a yoshi, not a koopa, not a goomba.

Tokipal lead them away.

Man, I feel like a complete jerk. I can't believe that I actually said those things to the former chief. I don't even know if I actually meant them anymore. I want to say sorry, I want to beg for forgiveness, but I know I can't. Do you know why? He's not here! I can't apologize to someone who isn't even here. I can't say, "I'm sorry for all the stupid things that I said about you. Here, let's have some scones and tea so we can talk about like civilized British people because we all know that Americans are never civilized when it comes to compromise."

Wait, that was totally countryist. Curse me and my inability to not make fun of cultures!

"Alright," I hear Twilight's voice call, instantly silencing the tribe. "The warp pipe is just up this cliff." He pointed upwards where the face of a cliff was met. It wasn't that high; it couldn't have been more than nine feet high. Still, I can't jump that high. "Those who can flutter jump may do so. Those who cannot"—he looks at me specifically before continuing—"can request help from one who can."

Way to be speciesist, Twilight.

After his statement, he jumped into the air. A second later, he began to simultaneously and vigorously flap his arms. Soon, his legs began to rapidly kick. At first it looked futile, but soon he began to literally hover above the air. After a few more seconds, he was able to gain enough height to reach the cliff. In a matter of ten seconds, the chief was able to float like a helicopter from the ground to a cliff nine feet high.

That was one of the coolest things I've seen in a while.

Soon, the other yoshies line up in front of the cliff. Going by a few at a time, they flutter to the top of the cliff. I notice some of the children being helped by their parents. But I don't exactly have a parent here—let alone one that can flutter jump—do I?

"Lawrence!" I hear someone call as I watch the yoshies make it to the top. I turn to the source to find that it is Odin. "Need help getting up?"

I can't help but smile. After all that's happened today, it's nice to know that someone still enjoys my presence. "Yeah. I can't exactly flutter jump."

The brown yoshi chuckles, and gestures me to get onto his back. "Of course."

I obediently mount the creature. Without warning, the Odin leaps into the air. Mere seconds later, he begins to flap, much like I've seen the other yoshies do. It feels exhilarating. There's a sense of freedom from the limitations of nature. It's not like being on an airplane; you're not covered with glass and whatnot. You're barely protected. It's obviously dangerous, yet I love the feeling. It's unlike anything I've felt before. Part of me wishes that this ride would last forever.

"Okay, you can get off now."

Crap, over already?

Indeed, Odin and I are now on the top of the cliff. I look down, and there's no one else nine feet below us. I dismount the yoshi and focus my attention in front me. I see the entire tribe crowded around in a circle around something. Curiosity getting the better of me, I walk forward to see what they're staring at.

It's the warp pipe.

It's the key to my home.

Home.

"Alright," Twilight announces to the tribe. "This is our way to escape the island. If you look behind us, you can see that the Koopa Clan is no longer on our tail. Our old chief, Tokipal, has succeeded in misleading them." Crap, guilt. "Nonetheless, we must make haste. It would be better if we were to go into the pipe now." He begins to pace around, looking at each yoshi. "As you know, this warp pipe leads to the main civilization. To my knowledge, most of you do not have experience with warp pipes, nor the main civilization. All I wish is that you can adjust to whatever changes we may face. Just remember, it is safer than our island for the time being."

The chief stops. "Is there anything anyone would like to add before we enter?"

We all look at each other. I have to admit, I would like to apologize for what I did earlier (as well as my behavior ever since I arrived), but I just don't feel comfortable being the first to share.

"I'd like to say something," Sunny calls out, causing a hush amongst the group. "I have looked up to Tokipal ever since I've known him. I knew him as a chief and a leader." He turns to Twilight. "Twilight, you are our new chief. You are our new leader. You are well fit for the position, and I believe that the right decision was made. I know that I will be looking up to you as much as I did to Tokipal, chief." The yellow yoshi stops speaking, and receives nods of understanding from the rest of the tribe.

Soon, Crystal steps up. "I've known Tokipal for a long time, even before he was chief. He always told me about how to handle the job to the fullest. He told me about his ways of compassion, his ways of understanding, and his ability to adapt to whatever situation comes his way. Twilight, I know that you will be able to do the same." The nods of understanding return.

"Does anyone else wish to speak?" the chief queries.

It's now or never. "I would," I call, catching the attention of the group. I take a deep breath. "I know that I've been a jerk lately. I know that I haven't been able to properly handle things lately. I know that I, well, sucked as a person lately." Whoo, guilt trip. "I also said terrible things about Tokipal. The stress was just overwhelming me; I wasn't used to this kind of situation. And, I admit, I still am not. But now, I don't think I meant what I said about our previous chief. He was a great chief, and if he were here right now, I would overwhelm him with pleas for forgiveness. I was an idiot." I take another breath. "But I want to change that. When I go through that pipe, I will come out a changed person." Wow, that sounded so cliché. "I'll try to think of others, I'll try to handle things better, I'll try my hardest to be a better person. Of course, there's no guarentees, but one can try, right?" I step back down.

I don't get any nods of understanding. No, I got something far greater.

I got applause.

The yoshies that probably hated me are now applauding me. They are cheering for me. They actually believe that I can change into a better person.

I better live up to that promise.

I catch a glimpse of Twilight's smile before he speaks again. "No one else wishes to add something?" He scans around, and no one steps up. "Alright, into the warp pipe!"

Cheers emit throughout the tribe. The sound is overwhelming. One by one, yoshies jump, dive, and fly into the warp pipe, waiting for the travel to the main civilization.

But I wonder again, what is the main civilization? Is it America? Is it Japan? Is it the Mushroom Kingdom? Is it something that sounds like something from a crappy fanfiction?

I can't wonder about this now! I have to jump into that warp pipe!

And so, I take a step into the green structure, and dive right in.

First I'm met with darkness. It's the inside of a giant pipe, so it's what I should expect.

Second comes the feeling of going down a slide lined with conveyor belts. Seriously, it's freaking fast. I feel like I'm going at the speed of light, or possibly faster. It's too hard to tell when all I see are blurs.

Third comes the thought that I'm actually going home with these creatures. After a week of what seemed like torture, I can finally get out of this pseudo-nightmare.

Fourth comes the light as I get shot out of the warp pipe and onto a grassy plain. The soft grass tickles my skin as I attempt to get to my feet. I give up and decide to just look up.

Fifth comes the "OH MY GOD!" that I yell when I see what lies in front of me.

* * *

I hope it was worth the wait! And no, this story is not over yet. It's far from over.

And yes, the Golden Archer was a reference to me. I'm planning on doing a segment sometime in a story that features all my reviewers in some way. I'm still not sure, though. Some could be easy to do, while others... not so much.

Review, critique, share!


	11. Another Familiar Unknown World!

Hey, look who's back with a really late update?

Yeah, I once again prove myself to be a fail at writing when I don't update for almost a month. I do, however, have some excuses.

Paris lasted a week. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any ideas of what to write for the chapter. Shame on me, I guess.

When I was about halfway done with the chapter, Word decided to be mean and corrupt the file as I was saving. All that was left was a few paragraphs in the middle of the story. It's not very fun to have to rewrite the beginning of a chapter over again. I'm just glad the whole chapter didn't get corrupted.

This chapter is 3,100+ words. That's good enough for now, right?

So yeah, sorry for the late update, and I will try to at least update one more time this month. I wanted to get lots of updates during summer, but it turns out I'm more of a fail than I thought, hehe. Oh well, I just gotta keep trying! Or something!

DISCLAIMER: I claim no rights to Yoshi or any other video game series, settings, characters, and other elements. They belong to their respective owners. I do, however, own the original characters in this fic. Any resemblance to other people's work is completely coincidental unless otherwise noted.

* * *

**Chapter 11 – Another Familiar Unknown World?!**

You know, I've been slowly losing my sanity through the week. I mean, who wouldn't? Not everyone gets stranded on an island that's inhabited by characters who one thought were fictional. I mean, it's just not normal. Though of course, my sanity went on a roller coaster of ups and downs. Finally seeing the pipe back home, I was hot-headed and immediately jumped into it.

But of course, the last miniscule shreds of sanity I had left flew out of my head when I noticed that I was in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Now that I think about it, I should have expected this. My luck has been down to three percent ever since I got on the island. Whenever something seemed to go right for me, it was actually the complete opposite. Take the Koopa Clan incident, for example. Being the person to make assumptions, I thought the foghorn that sounded was from a boat to get me back. But was it? No, not even close. It was the friggin' Koopa Clan that I just so happened to lead to the tribe. Way to show my lack of knowledge, self! Where's my award? What's that? You can't give it to me because I'm stuck in a fictional world because of the stupidity that is also known as me due to my many—

"Wow, we're in the main civilization!" Rosa chirps. Way to point out the obvious.

"I never would have thought," starts Purpelie. "We're actually in the main civilization."

Sunny adds, "It's really different from home."

I force myself to get up. Every thought that goes through my mind makes me slightly less sane. Most of the yoshies are looking down the hill we found ourselves on.

Odin walks up to me. "Well, Lawrence, it looks like you're home."

I think it was then when I did one of the most unfitting things to do: laugh. "Heheh, home? You think that this… place… is my home? Hehe, just when I think that I finally have a chance to go home, bad luck punches me in the face. Haha, I love having the worst luck possible on this stupid trip. I LOVE IT!"

Yeeaaahhhh I lost it. Please direct me to the nearest mental hospital. Or the nearest tree so I can bang my head on it. Either one works.

"Lawrence, calm down," Purpelie comes in my direction, trying to soothe me. "What do you mean? Isn't this your home?"

I shake my head. It's partly with disagreement, partly with my currently erratic behavior. "No. I'm from the main civilization, not the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"But the Mushroom Kingdom is the main civilization," says Odin.

"No no no no, you don't have proof."

The brown yoshi points near the pipe. "What about that sign?"

I wave my hand. "Fine, I'll read it." I walk up to it and read what's writing on it.

"Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom!"

Well, at least I knew where we were. I continued reading the smaller print under it.

"Known to many as the main civilization, this—"

Screw you, sign.

"Well, this sucks," I announced aloud. "The pipe lead to the Mushroom Kingdom. I wanted America!"

Crystal's raised hey eyebrow… eyelid… thingy. "America? What's that? Tokipal told me stories of the main civilization. The people here are normally well civilized toadstools. The Mushroom Kingdom is well known for its people."

"Toadstools?" Rosa couldn't help but inquire. "What are those?"

I replied, "Toadstools are the people of the Mushroom Kingdom. They have heads like spotted mushrooms, and walk upright. They have legs and arms. Fascinating, isn't it?"

"Uh, sure," answered the pink yoshi, obviously less-than-enthusiastic about my response.

"So you're not from here?" asked Sunny.

"No."

He nodded. "I guess it would make sense there aren't many humans here, it looks like."

I decided to take a look down the hill. Indeed, it was a sea of green, red and white. The green being the grass, and the red and white being the heads of the sea of toadstools. Not literally, of course. Among the colors, small patches of brown, yellow and green could be made out. Using my obviously vast knowledge of Mario (and using whatever sane thoughts made their way back into my head), I assumed they were goombas and koopas. I mean, not all of them are evil, right? They should be allowed in the Mushroom Kingdom. As far as I remember, toadstools were generally nice.

But of course, knowing my luck, this world is gonna be completely different like Yoshi's Island. I mean, we got assaulted by friggin' watermelon seeds! For all I know, toadstools are complete speciesist jerks who only care for their own kind and will do anything to maintain the same species throughout their kingdom.

Or I'm being paranoid. I'm not sure anymore.

"Wow, look at that castle over there!"

I couldn't help but catch notice of Aquarius' words. I looked at where we was pointing and, indeed, there was a huge castle in the distance. Though it was slightly faded because of the distance, many of its details could be made out clearly. The first thing I saw was the trademark red roof, along with the red flags on each of the five towers. I could see the grey bridge that lead over the moat, along with the rather large waterfall. And of course, I could easily identify the stained glass window in the middle of the large structure, the pink and yellow standing out the most.

"It's Peach's Castle!" I can't help but blurt out. "From an island in the middle of nowhere, to a civilization in the middle of nowhere! Well, at least I know some of the things here, now."

"But aren't you from Emerca or something?" Cami asks. "How do you know so much about us, and about this place?"

"Well," I start, but I trail off for a bit. What was my cover story, again? "I heard stories about Yoshi's Island and the Mushroom Kingdom. They really fascinated me, so I kept learning more about these places."

"Fair enough," the green yoshi shrugs.

* * *

"Yes, sire, they've gone down the warp pipe."

"How could you let that happen? I told you to get them before they could reach it!"

"There was nothing we could do, sire. They mislead us. We were, however, able to catch one. A red one."

"One is better than none, I suppose. It doesn't matter, I have another plan to lead them straight here."

"What is it, sire?"

* * *

Sunny turns to Twilight. "So what should we do now, Tw—chief?"

Oh yeah, Twilight's here. Crap.

"I'm not sure," the chief replies.

I stretch my arms. "Great plan."

Twilight glares at me before continuing. "We should probably travel to the castle over there."

"The castle?"

I didn't recognize that voice. We turn towards the pipe and see a koopa troopa with an aqua blue shell that was walking at a leisurely pace towards us.

Cami's distinctive voice shouts, "A koopa!"

Twilight dashes to it. "What are you doing here, koopa?"

The koopa jumps backwards and shrieks. Either it's a girl, or a very, very cowardly boy. "Ahh! Please, don't hurt me! I just wanted to help you."

The dark blue yoshi backs off slightly, but keeps his guard up. "What's your name? What are you doing here?"

"My name's Koopie," the turtle says, and gets back up. "I overheard you saying that you needed to get to the castle. You're not from here, are you?"

"No."

Koopie chuckles. "I didn't think so. It's not often when a yoshi clan is in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Are you with the Koopa Clan?" interrogates Cami, eyeing the koopa troopa with discomfort.

I manage to quietly laugh. Hey, the best thing to do when you're depressed is smile and laugh. I mean, choking yourself won't do any good. "Not all koopas are bad. At least, I think. I've heard of koopas who've helped Mario on some of his adventures."

"That's right," Koopie nods. "Not all koopa troopas are with Bowser. In fact, I'm against the Koopa Clan."

The green yoshi blinks, but doesn't keep her eyes off the turtle. "Is that so?"

"Now, now," Odin starts, slowly leading Cami away from Koopie. "Now is not a time to throw suspicions. I'm sure the koopa's telling the truth."

"So can I show you the way to the castle?" the koopa asks, gesturing towards the road in the not far off distance.

Twilight nods. "I suppose so. It's always a help to add others to the group."

"Yeah," I add. "That's how I got here."

"Yes, and what a big mistake that was," mutters the chief in a low voice, though I can hear him.

"Shut up."

And so, our odd group of yoshies, a human, and now a koopa travel along at a slow pace down the dirt road. Many of the yoshies were amazed at how the Mushroom Kingdom looked so different to their own island.

"What is that in the sky over there?" I could hear Aquarius ask Koopie.

"That's a helicopter. People fly in them."

"They can fly?"

"Well, they ride inside of the helicopter. It's usually used for the news."

"News?"

"I'll explain when we get to the castle."

I decide to talk to Koopie. I mean, I need as many friends as I can get if I were to remain calm. "So, you know how to get to Princess Peach's Castle?"

"Yeah," the aqua-shelled creature replies. "I've been here all the time."

"So where did you come from?"

She cringes slightly. "I'm from the Koopa Kingdom, but I hate it. My parents are actually close friends of the King."

"Bowser?"

"The one and only," she replies with a frown.

Wow, as if a needed more proof that I'm really in the Mario world. I mean, surely the countless koopas and yoshies and toadstools that were around would be proof, but it still takes a while for reality to hit. But then again, I've been here for more than a week. I guess I'm just slow at adjusting.

"I escaped from the Kingdom illegally. Normally you're supposed to ask permission of the Koopa Government."

"So you're in the Mushroom Kingdom illegally?"

Koopie shakes her head. "The Mushroom Kingdom is a lot lighter when it comes to people coming in. As long as you have the money, you can stay in a hotel or apartment without being a citizen. To get a house, however, you need to apply for citizenship."

"Sounds reasonable."

For the next few minutes we just traveled quietly, taking in the sights. It's odd. In many ways, this place is just like America: houses, airplanes, big skyscrapers (Odin was especially fascinated by those), stores, and many others things. And yet, it's totally different: the different species, the low amount of cars in the street, and the large amount of lakes and stuff. It's really cool.

"I never caught your name."

Oh right, Koopie's still here. "My name's Lawrence. Yours is Koopie, right?"

"Yep." She just stares at me for a few seconds. "You're not from here, are you?"

My face falls. "How did you know?"

"There aren't many humans anywhere."

"Oh yeah." Argh, the urge to slap myself in the face for my stupidity is overwhelming.

"The only humans I can think of at the top of my head are Princess Peach and Mario."

Wait, what? "What about Luigi?"

"Who?"

Okay, there is no way she just forgot about my favorite Mario character. "You know, Mario's brother?"

The koopa still looks confused. "He has a brother?"

Must not kill Koopie… must not kill self… must not—

"Yeah, he has a brother."

Koopie just shrugs. "Well, that's news to me."

Okay, let's change the subject before I learn anything that may cause me to go less sane than I already am. "So, what's the Mushroom Kingdom like? Well, besides what we see now."

She puts her hand to her chin, deep in though. "There are lots of toadstools around, but that's obvious. There are also some koopas around here, too. One of my relatives actually owns a bar there. There are some goombas, but they're rare to see in the Mushroom Kingdom. Most goombas are wanderers that find their way to the Koopa Kingdom. They end up being forced into the Koopa Clan."

"So they join Bowser's forces against their will?"

"Most," Koopie replies. "Some willingly join the clan because they have nowhere else to go."

I shake my head. "Goombas must have sucky lives, huh?"

"You can say that."

"So, back to the original topic," I say.

"Right," the aqua turtle nods. "There are lots of things in the kingdom; most things you'd eexpect. Hospitals, schools, police departments, and the castle, of course."

"Food?" I ask eagerly.

Koopie laughs. "There are lots of restaurants. They sell things like meat, vegetables, fruits—"

"Good enough for me!"

The conversation ended, and I decided to study our surroundings again. We were in an area with lots of people walking about. I'm guessing this is a downtown area by the many restaurants, shops, and (what I think are) clubs. It kinda reminds me of my downtown, actually, except this place barely has any cars. I took a look at the names of each store: Toadstool Factory; Peaches, Peaches, Peaches; The Star Girl; Mario's Pasta Place; Toy—

Mario's Pasta Place?

"Hey Koopie," I turn to Koopie once again. "That place over there, Mario's Pizza Place. Is it run by Mario?"

"No," replies the koopa. "It's mainly a name to attract customers, but Mario has donated some money here, and I've heard he visits it often."

"Cool!" With a more sarcastic voice, I say, "Maybe I'll even meet him one day, hehe."

Koopie nods, taking me seriously. "You probably can. Many have met him there before. Sometimes he also brings this other guy. I think he's famous, too. You might know him. He's said to wear green a lot—"

"Luigi? His brother?"

"No, someone famous."

The urges to strangle this koopa have never been stronger. And I've just met her. That's not a good sign. "He is famous."

"Who is?" Rosa asks, joining in our conversation without warning.

"Do you know how Luigi is? You know, Mario's brother?"

"I've never heard of either of them," the yoshi tells us.

I turn back to Koopie. "Bad source. But Luigi is popular. I hope." Let's change the subject, shall we? "So… your brother owns a bar."

Her face lightens up. I guess she likes talking about her brother. "Yeah! It's actually just up ahead, if I remember correctly."

I look in front of us, and on the right side of the road was a rather large looking building with the words on top, "Toad's Town Downtown Bar." Underneath the words was a picture of a koopa holding what looked to be a beer bottle. Through the windows, I could easily make out the shapes of toadstools, koopas, and goombas that were drinking themselves silly. They did seem to enjoy themselves, though. I guess it's more money for Koopie's bro. As we walked by, I noticed a sign that read, "Must be of legal age to enter."

"So your brother owns this place?" I ask. "Looks pretty nice. From the outside, I mean. I've never been in a bar before. I'm only twelve."

"You're _twelve?!_" exclaims Koopie, obviously surprised. "There's no way you're twelve! You look more like you're five or six."

I make a face. "Gee, thanks. But if I was that age, I'd have a really high voice and I'd be really short. Well, higher pitched and shorter than I already am."

Now Koopie's confused. "Wait, what's the normal life expectancy of a human?"

"Um…" I say, taken aback by the question. "I dunno, it varies. I'd say around eighty to ninety, I guess."

"Oh," the turtle says. "Wow, I didn't know it was that high. The normal life expectancy of a koopa is around thirty."

"Wow, that's low."

She imitates my voice. "Gee, thanks."

I laugh a lot. I gotta admit, I kinda like Koopie. As a friend, I mean. She seems like she's my age. It's nice, considering I sorta failed at getting friends on Yoshi's Island. Hopefully I can be her friend.

"So how old are you, anyway?"

"I'm six years old. That's one year above the legal age of drinking for koopas, actually."

My eyes widen at her statement. "The legal age for koopas is five?!"

"Yeah."

Wow… talk about low ages. I think. I dunno. "What's the legal age for everyone else, then?"

She puts her finger on her chin. "Let's see… for goombas it's around three. They have really short life spans. For toadstools, it's around eight or nine. Their lifespan is, like, fifty years. As for humans…" Koopie trails off, deep in thought, "Y'know, I don't think there's an age limit for humans. Almost all the humans I know aren't kids, so they can go to whatever bar they want. No one really knows much about humans except for, well, the humans!"

Alright, so according to the laws of the Mushroom Kingdom, I can drink whenever I want. Not that I would. I tried wine by accident once, and it tastes awful. I don't want to even try beer either. "So I'm guessing you don't drink?"

"Are you kidding?" asks Koopie. "It's so much fun! You just take one sip, and you feel so funny and dizzy. Take another, and it's like you're in another world! That's what I love about fuzzies."

"They put fuzzies in the drinks?"

"Well, no." The apparently fuzzy-obsessed koopa tries to explain. "Most of the drinks use fuzzy extract as the stuff that makes you feel dizzy. Some still use this stuff called alcohol, but it tastes bad and you get a hangover after a while."

"And you know all this, why?"

"'Cause I always visit my brother's bar whenever I can."

"And how often is that?"

"About once a week."

"And how much do you drink?"

"About three glasses each visit."

I swear, finding out that this girl is a drunkard really changes my opinion about her, not to mention this world. If I had to think right off the top of my head what I thought the Mushroom Kingdom would be like, I would think of this innocent little world where everyone lives in harmony and there's no bad stuff whatsoever. What do I get? I get America but without cars or humans!

Well, I guess it's kinda like home, in a strange, twisted sort of way. Maybe I can get used to this.

Oops, my sanity ran away again. Oh well.

* * *

Yes, I love playing evil and not giving Lawrence what he wanted. It's fun to do that to him.

Some parts may seem out of order, and some may just be written badly. That is the result of writer's block and hitting your head repeatedly on a desk. But fear not, I did not hit my head with bare wood. I made sure to put a pillow on it before I proceeded.

Yes, the wine story is true. While in Paris, I was allowed to get a sip of wine. I'm telling you, it tastes like Robitussin, except much worse. And Robitussin tastes pretty bad.

The idea for fuzzies was based off of Starrgrl24's Yoshi's Island fic. Feel free to give that story a look, too. It's pretty good.

And yes, I included a new character for you to add to your database of characters that probably all seem like the same person. I would get rid of some, but it's too late for that, isn't it?

If you've made it this far into the story, you know the drill for the end. Review, critisize, and share!


End file.
